_n_n-ji_n_n_n_n_n_n_n-. 


REESE  LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


O./.s.s 


THE   RISE 


OF 


THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC 


A    HISTORY 


BY 


W.  D.  McCRACKAN,  M.  A. 

AUTHOR    OF    "  ROMANCE    AND    TEUTONIC    SWITZERLAND,"    ETC. 


SECOND    EDITION,    RE VISED   AND    ENLARGED 


or  THE 
(   UNIVERSITY   ) 


NEW   YORK 

HENRY   HOLT  AND   COMPANY 

1901 


COPYRIGHT,  1892,  1901, 
BY  WILLIAM  D.  MCCRACKAN 


All  rights  reserved 


THIS     VOLUME 

IS  DEDICA  TED 
TO 

MY    DEAR    WIFE 

THE    CONSTANT    COMPANION    OF    MY    TRAVELS    AND    RESEARCHES 
AND    MY    TRUEST    CRITIC    AND    ADVISER. 


INTRODUCTION. 


'"THE  study  of  federalism  as  a  system  of  government  has,  in 
recent  times,  become  a  favorite  subject  for  constitutional 
writers.  At  present  the  United  States  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
on  this  continent,  the  newly  constituted  Australian  Commonwealth 
at  the  Antipodes,  and  in  Europe  the  German  Empire,  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Empire,  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  are  all  examples 
of  the  application  of  the  federal  principle  in  its  various  phases. 
What  makes  all  researches  into  this  branch  of  political  learning 
particularly  difficult,  and,  perhaps,  for  that  reason,  also  exceptionally 
fascinating,  is  the  fact  that  federated  states  seem  forever  oscillating 
between  the  two  extremes  of  complete  centralization  and  decentral- 
ization. The  two  forces,  centripetal  and  centrifugal,  seem  to  be 
always  pulling  against  each  other,  and  producing  a  new  resultant 
which  varies  according  to  their  proportionate  intensity.  One  is 
almost  tempted  to  say  that  there  must  be  an  ideal  state  somewhere 
between  these  two  extremes,  some  point  of  perfect  balance,  from 
which  no  nation  can  ever  depart  very  far,  without  either  falling  apart 
into  anarchy  or  being  consolidated  into  despotism.  Whatever, 
therefore,  can  throw  a  light  upon  these  obscure  forces  is  certainly 
entitled  to  our  deepest  interest. 

But  not  all  representatives  of  federalism  possess  an  equal  value 
for  us,  in  our  search  after  improvements  in  the  art  of  self-govern- 
ment. The  study  of  the  constitutions  of  the  German  and  Austro- 
Hungarian  Empires  can  only  be  of  secondary  importance  to  us 
Americans,  because  these  states  are  founded  upon  monarchical  prin- 
ciples, quite  foreign  to  our  body  politic.  To  a  limited  extent,  the 
same  objection  may  be  made  to  the  Canadian  and  Australian  consti- 
tutions, since  the  connection  of  those  countries  with  the  monarchical 
mother-country  has  not  been  constitutionally  severed.  But  there  is 


vi  INTRODUCTION. 

another  federated  state  in  existence,  until  lately  almost  ignored  by 
writers  on  political  subjects,  whose  example  .can,  in  reality,  be  of  the 
utmost  service  to  us.  The  Swiss  Confederation  is  as  near  as  possi- 
ble a  counterpart  in  miniature  of  the  United  States.  Prof.  Albert 
Bushnell  Hart,  in  his  "  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Federal  Govern- 
ment", declares  with  justice  that,  "Of  all  the  confederations  of  his- 
tory, Switzerland  bears  the  closest  resemblajice  in  institutions  to  the 
United  States."1 

In  recent  years,  by  what  seems  like  an  extraordinary  revival  of 
interest,  several  books  have  appeared  in  English  devoted  to  the 
elucidation  of  Swiss  political  institutions,  but  the  history  of  the 
country  has  not  always  received  scientific  treatment.  It  is,  in  fact, 
the  misfortune  of  Swiss  history,  that  although  very  little  is  popularly 
known  about  it,  that  little  is  almost  invariably  incorrect.  The  sub- 
ject has  so  long  lain  neglected  in  the  literary  garret  that  cobwebs 
have  gathered  over  it  and  obscured  the  truth. 

There  is  a  widespread  but  vague  idea  that  a  regularly  organized 
republic  has  existed  in  the  Alps  from  time  immemorial,  under  the 
name  of  Helvetia.  Nothing  could  be  more  misleading  —  for,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  territory  now  known  as  Switzerland  had  no  sepa- 
rate political  existence  prior  to  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  its  condition  resembled  that  of  Central  Europe  in  general. 
The  Swiss  Confederation  made  its  entry  upon  the  historic  stage  in 
1291,  when  three  small  and  obscure  peasant  communities,  Uri, 
Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden,  concluded  a  perpetual  pact  in  order  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  encroachments  of  the  nobility  in  gen- 
eral, and  of  the  family  of  Habsburg  in  particular.  As  for  the  Celtic 
tribe  of  the  Helvetii,  who  inhabited  a  part  of  the  country  when  it  is 
first  mentioned  by  Roman  writers,  they  had  no  more  to  do  with 
founding  the  Swiss  Confederation,  than  had  the  Indians  in  America 
to  do  with  framing  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Around  the  three  communities  of  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden, 
as  a  nucleus,  the  Swiss  Confederation  grew,  in  course  of  time,  by 
the  adherence  of  other  sovereign  communities,  until  it  reached  its 
present  proportion  of  twenty-two  Cantons  in  1815.  The  very  name 
of  Switzerland  was  unknown  before  the  fifteenth  century,  when,  for 
the  first  time,  the  eight  states  which  then  composed  the  Confedera- 
tion began  to  be  called  collectively  "  Die  Schweiz ",  after  the  com- 

1  Chap.  IV.,  p.  62. 


INTRODUCTION.  vii 

munity  of  Schwiz,  which  was  the  most  pronounced  in  its  opposition 
to  the  pretensions  of  the  German  nobility.  It  was  not  until  1648, 
by  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  that  the  complete  independence  of  the 
Swiss  from  the  German  Empire  was  established  beyond  question. 

There  is  another  fact  which  must  be  borne  in  mind,  namely,  that 
Swiss  self-government,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer  the  most  perfect 
yet  devised  by  any  free  people,  is  Teutonic  in  character,  like  that  of 
England  and  the  United  States.  Although  Switzerland  is  now  a 
polyglot  state,  and  her  constitution  expressly  stipulates  that  Ger- 
man, French  and  Italian  shall  all  alike  be  considered  national  lan- 
guages, the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are  German-speaking,  and  it 
was  from  them  that  the  original  impulse  toward  independence  made 
itself  felt.  The  other  Romance-speaking  Cantons  were  acquired  by 
conquest,  and  were  not  admitted  on  a  footing  of  equality  until  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century. 

It  is,  indeed,  surprising  to  notice  how  that  country,  with  whose 
name  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  some  of  our  noblest  concep- 
tions of  liberty,  has  run  up  the  gamut  of  self-government,  striking 
all  the  intervening  notes  between  complete  subjugation  and  unques- 
tioned independence.  The  history  of  the  Swiss  Confederation 
presents  for  our  inspection  six  centuries  of  growth  from  the  very 
rudiments  of  liberty  to  its  full  flower  in  the  present  day.  It 
furnishes  a  veritable  catalogue  of  priceless  precedents  for  our 
edification  and  guidance,  and  the  indifference  with  which  it  has 
heretofore  been  viewed  by  English-speaking  scholars  is,  therefore, 
inexcusable. 

Of  course,  the  prevailing  neglect  of  this  promising  historical  field 
is  susceptible  of  certain  explanations,  which  do  not,  however,  con- 
done the  fault  of  the  neglect  itself. 

Switzerland  is  visited  for  the  sake  of  its  scenery ;  for  recreation, 
not  for  study.  The  Swiss  people  themselves  do  not,  at  first  sight, 
invite  interest,  nor  does  the  national  character  stimulate  the  imagin- 
ation. Public  affairs  are  managed  with  so  much  moderation  and 
sobriety  that  the  attention  of  the  world  at  large  is  not  attracted  to 
them.  The  country  is  too  small,  and  apparently  insignificant,  amid 
the  great  powers  of  Europe,  to  arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  the  super- 
ficial observer. 

And  yet,  how  disproportionately  large  has  been  the  share  of 
Switzerland  in  the  work  of  overthrowing  the  feudal  system,  of 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

hastening  the  triumph  of  the  common  people  over  the  privileged 
few,  and  turning  great  world-tendencies  definitely  toward  democ- 
racy !  How  the  victories  of  the  peasantry  at  Morgarten  and  Sem- 
pach,  where  the  flower  of  Austrian  chivalry  was  utterly  defeated, 
lighted  up  the  gloom  which  brooded  over  the  serfs  of  the  middle 
ages !  How  Zwingli  and  Calvin  strove  to  emancipate  the  human 
conscience  from  ecclesiastical  tradition,  and  how  such  men  as  Lava- 
ter,  Rousseau,  and  Pestalozzi,  each  after  his  own  fashion,  laid  the 
foundation  for  that  great  study  of  humanity  which  has  distinguished 
our  own  century ! 

The  issue  constantly  at  stake,  throughout  the  history  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation,  has  been  one  of  the  noblest  and  the  most  persistent 
with  which  human  nature  has  had  to  grapple  —  the  question  of 
self-government.  In  these  days  Switzerland  has  become  the  stand- 
ard-bearer in  all  reforms  which  make  for  direct  democracy  and  pure 
politics.  Her  historical  development  ought,  therefore,  to  be  fully 
known  and  duly  appreciated  by  American  scholars. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I. 

SWITZERLAND    BEFORE   THE    FOUNDING   OF    THE  CONFEDERATION. 

AFTER.  PAGE. 

I.     The  Lake  Dwellers 13 

II.     Helvetia  and  the  Roman  Occupation  .         .         .  20 

III.  The  Teutonic  Ancestors  of  the  Swiss           .         .  31 

IV.  The  Supremacy  of  the  Franks     ....  38 
V.     Queen  Bertha  of  Burgundy           ....  49 

VI.     The  House  of  Zaeringen 55 

VII.     The  House  of  Savoy 59 

VIII.     The  House  of  Habsburg 62 


BOOK  II. 

THE    CONFEDERATION    OF    EIGHT   STATES. 

I.  The  Origin  of  the  Swiss  Confederation 

II.  Uri 

III.  Schwiz 

IV.  Unterwalden 

V.  The  First  Perpetual  League          .... 

VI.     The  Legend  of  William  Tell        .... 

VII.     Other  Legends 

VIII.     The  Origin  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  and  of  the 

United  States  Compared  .... 

IX.     The  Confederates  against  Habsburg-Austria 

X.     The  Battle  of  Morgarten 

XI.     Luzern 

XII.     Zurich 

Alii.     Glarus  and  Zug    ....... 

XIV.     Bern 

XV.     Invasion  of  the  Gugler  and  Feud  with  Kiburg   . 

XVI.     The  Battle  of  Sempach 

XVII.     The  Battle  of  Nafels 

XVIII.     Constitutional  Organization  of  the  Confederation  of 

Eight  States 

ix 


69 

73 
78 
83 

85 
92 

IOS 

in 
116 
123 
129 
136 
'47 
J54 
162 

J67 

177 


x  CONTENTS. 

BOOK   III. 

THE    CONFEDERATION   AT    THE    HEIGHT    OF    ITS    MILITARY   POWER. 

CHAPTER.  PACK. 

I.     Appenzell  and  St.  Gallen  .         .         .         .  193 

II.     The  Valais  and  Graubiinden         .         .         .         .  202 

III.  The  Conquest  of  Val  Leventina  and  Aargau         .  208 

IV.  The  First  Civil  War  213 

V.     The  War  with  Charles  of  Burgundy  .         .  219 

VI.     The  Covenant  of  Stans 232 

VII.     The  War  against  the  Empire        ....  236 
VIII.     Switzerland  and  the  Balance  of  Power  in  Europe  239 
IX.     The  Thirteen  Swiss  States  and  the  Thirteen  Ameri- 
can Colonies 243 

BOOK  IV. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

I.     The  Rise  of  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland         .  251 

II.     Zwingli  in  Zurich          .         .         .         .         .         .  259 

III.  The  Growth  of  the  Reformation  .         .         .  264 

IV.  Calvin  in  Geneva          .         .         .         .         .         .  271 

V.     Decay  of  National  Life 278 

VI.     The  Growth  of  Aristocracy  and  the  Peasants' War  281 

BOOK  V. 

THE    MODERN   CONFEDERATION. 

I.     Signs  of  National  Regeneration  .         .         .  289 

II.     The  Helvetic  Revolution      .....  295 

III.  The  Helvetic  Republic 300 

IV.  Switzerland  the  Battle-field  of  Europe  ...  308 
V.     Napoleon's  Act  of  Mediation        .         .         .         ,  313 

VI.     The  Period  of  Reactionary  Restoration         .         .  319 

VII.     Democratic  Reforms  in  the  Cantons  .         .  325 

VIII.     The  War  of  the  Sonderbund  and  the  Constitution  of 

1848 331 

^  IX.     Recent  Constitutional  Changes  in  the  Cantons     .  338  ^ 
X.     The  Constitutions  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  and  of 

the  United  States  Compared          .         .         .  346 

XI.     The  Neutrality  of  Switzerland      .         .         .         .  ,  354 

XII.     Twentieth-Century  Switzerland    ....  364 

Appendix 373 


BOOK   I. 

SWITZERLAND    BEFORE    THE    FOUNDING   OF   THE 
CONFEDERATION. 


THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    LAKE    DWELLERS. 

THE  earliest  traces  of  man's  existence  which  have  been 
found  in  the  territory  covered  by  modern  Switzerland, 
are  represented  by  some  fragments  of  basket-work,  imbedded  in 
a  lignite  formation  at  Wetzikon  near  Zurich.  Geologists  rec- 
ognize two  glacial  eras  as  having  passed  over  the  country,  and 
this  lignite  is  the  vegetation,  now  carbonized,  which  sprang  up 
after  the  retreat  of  the  first  ice  and  before  the  advance  of  the 
second,  so  that  the  presence  of  man  in  these  regions  has  been 
established  during  a  period,  the  antiquity  of  which  can  only  be 
estimated  by  geological  formulas. 

Man's  next  appearance  dates  from  the  time  when  the  second 
glacial  era  was  on  the  wane,  and  the  outskirts  of  the  country 
were  already  free  from  ice.  Traces  of  a  primitive  people, 
known  to  antiquarians  as  Troglodytes,  have  been  discovered  in 
a  few  isolated  caves,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sal  eve  near  Geneva,  at 
Villeneuve,  and  notably  at  Thayngen  near  Schaffhausen.  At 
this  last  place  a  cave  has  been  exhaustively  examined,  and  has 
amply  rewarded  the  pains  expended  upon  it,  for  besides  a  mass 
of  flint  and  bone  implements,  the  searchers  came  upon  a  bone 
fragment  upon  which  the  image  of  a  reindeer  was  engraved. 
The  drawing  is  so  good,  that  there  was  some  excuse  for  the 
incredulity  with  which  its  appearance  was  popularly  received. 
Amongst  the.  contemporary  fauna  may  be  mentioned  the  mam-. 


14  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

moth,  the  woolly  haired  rhinoceros,  two  species  of  wild  bull, 
the  elk,  the  cave  bear,  and  the  hyaena,  besides  a  number  of 
animals  still  existing  in  Switzerland.  These  Troglodytes  knew 
the  use  of  fire,  but  not  that  of  metals.  As  for  their  origin  and 
subsequent  fate,  both  are  absolutely  unknown;  there  is  little 
doubt,  however,  that  they  belonged  to  the  same  race  which  has 
left  similar  traces  over  the  whole  of  Western  Europe. 

After  an  interval  of  many  centuries,  during  which  the  cli- 
mate changed  to  something  like  its  present  condition,  and  the 
animals  enumerated  above,  vanished  or  emigrated,  the  so-called 
Lake  Dwellers  made  their  appearance.  Probably  the  transi- 
tion from  Cave  Dwellers  to  Lake  Dwellers  came  about 
through  a  complete  change  of  race,  for  even  the  earliest  lake 
dwellings  bear  evidence  that  their  inhabitants  were  many 
degrees  in  advance  of  their  predecessors  in  everything  that 
constitutes  civilization. 

The  discovery  of  these  lake  dwellings  in  Switzerland  ranks 
amongst  the  most  notable  achievements  of  modern  antiquarian 
science.  From  time  to  time  during  the  first  part  of  this  cen- 
tury, and  even  earlier,  ancient  wooden  stakes  and  stone  imple- 
ments of  finished  workmanship  had  been  noticed  along  the 
shores  of  the  lakes  of  Zurich  and  Constance.  They  were 
objects  of  wonder  for  awhile,  but  were  soon  forgotten. 
Finally  during  the  severe  winter  of  1853-54  a  peculiar  circum- 
stance forced  the  whole  subject  upon  public  attention.  In 
that  year  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  Switzerland  were  unusually 
low,  and  the  receding  waters  left  great  stretches  of  bottom-land 
exposed  to  view.  The  inhabitants  of  Obermeilen,  a  village  on 
the  lake  of  Zurich,  profiting  by  this  rare  opportunity,  set  to 
work  reclaiming  as  much  as  possible  of  the  uncovered  ground 
for  gardens  and  quays.  In  the  course  of  their  labors  they 
came  upon  piles  driven  deep  into  the  soil,  and  presenting 
every  appearance  of  great  age,  while  scattered  about  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  lay  stags'  horns  and  stone  utensils.  Fortu- 
nately the  village  school-master,  Herr  Aeppli  was  sufficiently 
impressed  by  these  finds  to  notify  the  Antiquarian  Association 


THE  LAKE  DWELLERS.  15 

of  Zurich,  and  so  it  was  that  Dr.  Ferdinand  Keller,  the  Presi- 
dent of  that  society,  repaired  to  Obermeilen,  and  having  exam- 
ined the  remains,  announced  the  discovery  of  prehistoric  lake 
dwellings. 

As  compared  with  some  of  the  great  tourist  show-places  of 
Switzerland,  the  lake  of  Zurich  cannot  perhaps  claim  to  pos- 
sess exceptional  beauty  of  scenery.  It  has  neither  the  roman- 
tic loveliness  of  the  lake  of  Luzern,  enhanced  as  that  is  by 
historical  and  legendary  traditions,  nor  the  wealth  of  color  and 
the  majestic  sweep  of  Lake  Leman,  but  the  discovery  of  the 
first  lake  dwellings  upon  its  shores  has  secured  it  an  imperish- 
able name  in  the  annals  of  science.  By  searching  the  shores 
of  other  lakes  in  Switzerland,  similar  remains  were  found  in 
great  quantities,  grouped  in  stations  or  villages,  the  number  of 
which  has  now  grown  to  more  than  two  hundred.  Usually, 
however,  the  most  important  discoveries  were  made  by  acci- 
dent, like  that  of  Obermeilen,  when  dredging  operations  were 
in  progress  or  piers  were  being  built  in  the  water.  Some 
years  ago  the  Swiss  government  inaugurated  a  great  engineer- 
ing enterprise,  known  as  the  " Correction  des  Eaux  du  Jura" 
which  was  designed  to  drain  a  district  of  marshland  lying 
between  the  lakes  of  Neuchatel,  Bienne,  and  Morat,  and 
marked  upon  the  map  as  the  "  Grosse  Moos"  This  undertak- 
ing is  now  practically  complete,  and  the  level  of  the  three 
lakes  has  been  lowered  some  six  or  eight  feet,  unexpectedly 
revealing  the  existence  of  numerous  lake  dwelling  villages 
along  the  shores,  which  had  heretofore  been  hidden  under 
water.  In  the  same  way  interesting  finds  were  made  at 
Zurich  when  the  beautiful  new  promenades  were  being  built 
along  the  lake  front. 

These  discoveries  in  Switzerland  stimulated  antiquarian 
researches  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  so  that  traces  of  lake 
dwellings  have  been  found  throughout  an  area  extending  from 
the  British  Isles  to  the  great  rivers  of  the  Black  Sea,  and 
from  Scandinavia  to  Northern  Italy.  Besides  the  typical  lake 
dwellings  such  as  are  found  in  Switzerland,  there  are  other  vari- 


16  THE   RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

eties :  The  crannogs  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  the  terp-mounds 
of  Holland,  and  the  palafittes  and  terramare  of  Italy,  all  bear- 
ing witness  to  the  extent  to  which  this  curious  manner  of 
building  obtained  at  one  period  of  man's  development. 

The  only  references  to  these  lake  dwellings  which  have 
come  down  to  us  in  literature  are  contained  in  two  passing 
notices  of  Herodotus  and  Hippocrates.  Says  Herodotus: 
"And  they  likewise  who  inhabited  Lake  Prasias  [near  the 
mouth  of  the  Struma  in  Macedonia]  were  not  conquered  by 
Megabazus.  He  sought  indeed  to  subdue  the  dwellers  upon 
the  lake  but  could  not  effect  his  purpose.  Their  manner  of 
living  is  the  following:  Platforms  supported  upon  tall  piles 
stand  in  the  middle  of  the  lake,  which  are  approached  from  the 
land  by  a  single  narrow  bridge.  .  .  .  Each  has  his  own 
hut,  wherein  he  dwells,  upon  one  of  the  platforms,  and  each 
has  also  a  trapdoor  giving  access  to  the  lake  beneath ;  and 
their  wont  is  to  tie  their  baby  children  by  the  foot  with  a 
string  to  save  them  from  rolling  into  the  water."1 

Hippocrates'  account  is  confined  to  a  few  lines  and  refers  to 
settlements  along  the  river  Phasis,  to  the  east  of  the  Black 
Sea.2 

Fortunately,  however,  for  the  cause  of  science  the  deposits, 
which  had  gathered  under  the  dwellings  in  the  course  of  cen- 
turies, have  been  preserved  for  the  inspection  of  antiquarians 
by  the  mud  in  which  they  were  imbedded.  It  has,  therefore, 
been  possible  to  examine  these  layers  or  Kulturschichten>  as 
the  Germans  so  aptly  call  them,  and  to  reconstruct  a  certain 
amount  of  the  history  of  these  ancient  Lake  Dwellers. 

The  writer  does  not  intend  to  present  a  complete  and  fin- 
ished picture  of  this  early  civilization,  especially  as  the  whole 
subject  has  recently  been  exhaustively  treated  by  an  archeolo- 
gist  of  note,  Mr.  Robert  Munro,  in  "  The  Lake  Dwellings  of 
Europe."  But  for  the  sake  of  those  who  do  not  care  to  enter 
so  deeply  into  the  matter,  let  me  sum  up  the  principal  discov* 

1  History.     Book  V,  16. 

2  De  Aeribus  XXXVII. 


THE  LAKE  DWELLERS.  17 

eries  which  have  been  made,  and  the  theories  to  which  they 
have  given  rise. 

Taking  all  the  settlements  together,  they  have  demonstrated 
in  a  very  striking  manner  the  correctness  of  the  classification 
of  prehistoric  remains  into  the  great  periods  of  stone,  bronze 
and  iron,  which  antiquarians  had  made  before  the  discovery  of 
lake  dwellings.  There  are  stations  where  only  stone  and  bone 
implements  have  been  found,  and  no  vestige  of  metal  appears ; 
others  in  which  copper  and  bronze  utensils  begin  to  show 
themselves  in  small  quantities ;  others  again  where  bronze  pre- 
dominates and  faint  traces  of  iron  are  to  be  seen,  and  finally 
there  is  one  settlement  at  least,  La  Tene,  in  which  iron  reigns 
supreme.  Some  stations  even  passed  through  several  success- 
ive stages,  but  in  general  those  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Switzerland  did  not  long  survive  the  first  appearance  of  metal, 
while  those  of  the  western  part  continued  through  the  bronze 
and  into  the  dawn  of  the  iron  ages. 

Amongst  the  chief  articles  found  in  the  deposits  under  the 
dwellings,  the  following  will  give  an  idea  of  the  truly  astonish- 
ing advance  in  civilization  which  this  mysterious  race  had 
made. 

There  are  hearth-stones,  corn-crushers,  spindle-whorls,  sick- 
les, scissors,  needles,  harpoons,  fish-hooks,  crucibles,  axes  of 
various  descriptions,  flint-saws,  arrow-heads,  lance-heads,  clubs, 
daggers  and  swords ;  parts  of  a  chariot,  of  horse-bits  and  bri- 
dles, a  wooden  yoke,  a  canoe,  basket-work  and  a  bow  of  yew- 
wood  ;  for  personal  adornment  there  are  bracelets,  arm-bands, 
rings,  hair-pins,  beads  of  amber,  glass  and  gold,  combs  of  wood 
and  bronze,  and  girdles ;  specimens  of  woven  cloth,  of  fish-nets, 
mats,  thread,  ropes,  even  of  embroideries  and  checked  muslin. 
As  for  examples  of  pottery,  they  are  of  all  kinds  and  of  all 
degrees  of  fineness,  but  it  is  noteworthy  that  while  the  Troglo- 
dytes decorated  their  implements  with  images  of  real  objects,  as 
for  instance  of  a  reindeer,  the  Lake  Dwellers  drew  only  imag- 
inary designs,  such  as  geometrical  patterns  and  arabesques. 
A  few  rude  plastic  images  of  animals  have  been  discovered, 


18  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

but  no  drawings  of  them.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
lake  dwellings  were  burned  down,  a  number  of  perishable  arti- 
cles were  carbonized  and  thus  preserved  for  inspection  much 
in  the  same  way  as  similar  remains  excavated  at  Pompeii.  In 
this  manner  antiquarians  have  been  able  to  identify  samples  of 
wheat,  oats,  millet,  flax,  poppy,  etc.,  as  well  as  apples,  hazelnuts, 
plums,  strawberries,  raspberries-,  peas,  lentils  and  other  vegeta- 
ble substances ;  they  have  also  found  the  bones  of  horses,  cat- 
tle, sheep,  goats,  pigs,  dogs  and  cats,  and  of  bears,  deer,  beaver, 
swans,  geese  and  various  species  of  fish. 

For  a  long  time  there  was  a  great  deal  of  speculation  about 
the  appearance  of  the  lake  dwellings,  until  the  fortunate  dis- 
covery of  a  hut  at  Schiissenried  in  Wiirttemberg  in  a  very  fair 
state  of  preservation,  threw  light  upon  the  subject.  It  is  a 
rectangular  wooden  structure,  measuring  some  ten  by  seven 
meters,  divided  into  two  rooms,  one  of  which  only  had  a  door 
giving  access  to  the  exterior.  In  the  first  and  smaller  room 
were  discovered  the  remains  of  a  stone  hearth ;  the  flooring  was 
made  of  round  logs  laid  side  by  side,  while  the  walls  were  con- 
structed of  split  logs.  During  the  stone  age  the  platforms 
upon  which  these  huts  rested  were  considerably  smaller  and 
nearer  the  land  than  in  the  succeeding  ages.  Narrow  bridges 
connected  the  platforms  with  the  land,  and  ladders  led  down  to 
the  water's  surface. 

Of  human  remains  there  is  not  a  very  large  collection,  but 
the  few  skulls  and  skeletons  found  in  the  cemeteries  or  in  the 
deposits,  reveal  that  the  race  of  the  Lake  Dwellers  was  proba- 
bly smaller  than  our  own,  although  well  formed,  and  in  no 
sense  inferior  to  us  in  anatomical  structure. 

Many  questions  naturally  arise  in  regard  to  the  origin  and 
fate  of  this  curious  people,  which  cannot  be  answered  with 
absolute  certainty.  There  is  still  room  for  endless  speculation. 
Dr.  Ferdinand  Keller  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  remnants  he 
examined  at  Obermeilen  were  of  Celtic  origin,  but  his  theory 
has  not  been  confirmed  by  subsequent  discoveries.  It  is  now 
generally  conceded  that  the  earliest  Lake  Dwellers  at  all  events, 


THE  LAKE  DWELLERS.  19 

belonged  to  a  more  primitive  race.  Mr.  Robert  Munro  states 
it  as  his  conclusion  that  the  original  founders  of  the  settle- 
ments were  immigrants  who  penetrated  into  Europe  from  the 
East  during  the  neolithic  period.  He  thinks  that  they  spread 
from  the  regions  surrounding  the  Black  Sea  and  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean,  up  the  Danube  and  its  tributaries  into 
Styria,  into  the  valley  of  the  Po,  and  to  the  Swiss  lakes,  and 
that  the  Scotch  and  Irish  crannogs  with  analogous  remains  in 
other  countries  are  cases  of  the  system  cropping  up  in  out-of- 
the-way  corners  after  the  great  lake  dwelling  centres  had 
already  collapsed.  Although  it  is  impossible  to  fix  upon  pre- 
cise dates  for  this  lake  dwelling  era,  the  approximate  age  of 
the  earliest  settlements  has  been  computed  as  perhaps  2000  or 
3000  B.  C.  and  the  latest  as  800  or  1000  B.  C. 

No  very  definite  explanation  has  yet  been  given  of  the  rea- 
son why  these  people  invariably  built  their  homes  over  the 
water.  Some  writers  ascribe  this  practice  to  a  desire  for  pro- 
tection ;  others  to  the  primeval  forests  which  covered  the  avail- 
able land,  or  to  the  facilities  for  communication  and  for  fishing. 
Personally  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  was  a  racial  custom 
which  they  brought  with  them  from  their  homes  in  the  swamps 
of  Asia,  and  which  had  become  a  fixed  tradition  amongst  them. 

As  for  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Lake  Dwellers,  it  is 
shrouded  in  complete  mystery,  for  when  we  next  hear  of  the 
territory  occupied  by  modern  Switzerland,  it  is  described  as 
inhabited  by  Celts,  living  in  towns  and  villages  on  the  land. 
This  strange  race,  therefore,  returns  to  the  darkness  from 
which  the  discoveries  of  Obermeilen  momentarily  caused  it  to 
emerge. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HELVETIA  AND  THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION. 

A  GREAT  historical  gap  exists  between  the  time  when  the 
lake  dwellings  ceased  to  be  inhabited  and  the  period 
in  which  the  country  is  first  mentioned  in  literature.  The 
earliest  written  information  is  derived  from  Latin  authors  who 
described  the  country  as  it  appeared  in  the  century  which  pre- 
ceded the  birth  of  Christ,  and  who  had  either  themselves  come 
into  contact  with  the  land  and  people,  or  had  noted  down 
what  they  had  heard  from  others.  They  represent  the  coun- 
try as  inhabited  almost  exclusively  by  Celts,  grouped  into 
three  nations  or  Confederations,  and  six  independent  tribes, 
overlapping  on  all  sides  into  territory  not  now  comprised  by 
Switzerland,  so  that  the  picture  they  offer  is  not  that  of  a 
political  unit  by  any  means,  but  rather  a  conglomeration  of 
numerous  hostile  states. 

Of  the  six  independent  tribes,  the  Allobroges  occupied 
Savoy  and  the  region  around  Geneva;  the  Sequani  dwelt  in 
the  Jura  and  a  part  of  the  Franche  Comte;  the  Raurici  in 
Southern  Elsass  and  the  region  around  Basel ;  the  Viberi  and 
Lepontii,  of  Ligurian  origin,  in  the  Upper  Valais  and  Ticino; 
and  the  Vindelici  upon  the  shores  of  Lake  Constance  and  in 
the  adjacent  districts.  As  these  tribes  do  not  play  a  signifi- 
cant part  in  history,  they  may  with  safety  be  set  aside.  Of 
the  three  nations,  that  of  the  Raeti,  containing  Etruscan  ele- 
ments, was  in  possession  of  the  modern  Canton  of  Grisons 
and  the  neighboring  Tyrol ;  the  Gaesatae  consisted  of  three 
small  but  warlike  tribes  in  the  lower  Valais  ;  and  the  Helvetii, 

20 


HELVETIA   AND    THE  ROMAN   OCCUPATION.       21 

the  most  powerful  of  all,  held  all  the  rest  of  the  territory 
between  the  lakes  of  Geneva  and  Constance  on  the  one  hand,, 
and  the  Alps  and  the  Jura  on  the  other. 

These  Helvetii  had  already  made  an  appearance  in  history 
before  they  became  inhabitants  of  Swiss  territory,  while  the 
main  body  of  the  nation  still  dwelt  in  the  regions  between  the 
Main  and  the  Rhine.  Two  of  their  clans,  the  Tigorini  and 
Tougenes,  had  joined  the  Cimbri  and  Teutones,  when  the  latter 
swept  into  Gaul  in  the  second  century  before  Christ  on  their 
way  to  Italy,  and  under  an  enthusiastic  chief,  Divico,  had 
inflicted  a  disastrous  blow  upon  a  Roman  army  at  Agen  on  the 
Garonne,  forcing  the  surviving  enemy  to  submit  to  the  shame 
of  passing  under  the  yoke. 

It  was  probably  soon  after  this  invasion  of  the  Cimbri  and 
Teutones  that  the  Helvetii  crossed  the  Rhine  into  what  was 
destined  to  become  Swiss  territory,  being  no  longer  able  to 
withstand  the  pressure  of  the  German  tribes  at  their  back. 
But  they  had  not  been  long  in  their  new  habitations  when  a 
combination  of  unfavorable  circumstances  induced  them  to 
hazard  another  expedition  into  Gaul.  The  story  of  this  unsuc- 
cessful migration  is  told  by  Julius  Caesar  in  his  Commentaries 
on  the  Gallic  War1 ;  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  no  infor- 
mation whatever  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  Helvetian  side, 
as  Caesar's  account,  however  great  his  desire  to  be  impartial, 
could  not  fail  to  be  incomplete,  if  not  actually  prejudiced.  Let 
me  simply  recapitulate  the  principal  incidents. 

Being  continually  at  war  with  the  Germans,  and  unable  to 
extend  their  raids  into  neighboring  countries,  as  was  their 
wont,  on  account  of  the  great  natural  barriers  which  enclosed 
them,  the  Helvetii  were  easily  persuaded  by  an  ambitious  noble- 
man in  their  midst,  a  certain  Orgetorix,  to  emigrate  into  fer- 
tile Gaul.  Although  their  leader  died  before  they  could 
complete  their  preparations,  they  were  not  deterred  from  their 
purpose,  and  after  entering  into  friendly  compacts  with  neigh- 
boring tribes,  providing  themselves  with  food  for  the  journey, 

iBook  I,  Chap.  1-29. 


22  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

and  burning  their  twelve  towns  and  four  hundred  villages 
behind  them,  they  gave  the  rendezvous  to  all  the  clansmen  at 
Geneva  for  the  28th  of  March,  B.  C.  58.  But  here  an  unex- 
pected obstacle  presented  itself ;  the  way  was  barred  by  Julius 
Caesar,  just  entering  upon  his  great  career  of  conquest  in  Gaul. 
His  motive  for  thus  arresting  the  progress  of  the  Helvetii  was 
a  well-founded  apprehension  lest  .they  might  extend  their  dep- 
redations into  the  Roman  Province,  and  the  much-dreaded  Ger- 
mans, moving  into  the  land  thus  left  vacant,  might  reach  the 
frontier  of  the  Roman  possessions.  After  deluding  them  by 
repeated  negotiations,  until  he  had  intrenched  himself  and  col- 
lected reinforcements,  Caesar  finally  refused  point  blank  to  let 
them  pass  at  all.  Outwitted  by  these  tactics  the  Helvetii  made 
some  fruitless  efforts  to  force  a  passage  across  the  Rhone,  and 
then  turned  aside  to  reach  Gaul  by  the  modern  Pas  de  1'Ecluse. 
In  the  meantime  Caesar  hurried  back  to  Italy,  collected  five 
legions,  and  returned  in  time  to  catch  the  slow  moving 
train  of  the  Helvetii,  just  as  they  were  crossing  the  river 
Soane.  Here  he  managed  to  inflict  a  severe  blow  upon  the 
clan  of  the  Tigorini,  commanded  by  their  old  chieftain  Divico, 
and  following  closely,  at  length  engaged  the  whole  force  in  a 
decisive  battle  at  Bibracte,  the  modern  Autun  in  Burgundy. 
His  well  disciplined  legions  and  superior  generalship  triumphed 
over  the  bravery  of  the  desperate  Helvetii,  but  only  after  a 
struggle  which  lasted  from  about  one  o'clock  till  sunset.  As  a 
last  resort  the  Helvetii  had  built  a  fort  out  of  their  ox-carts, 
within  which  they  sold  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible,  per- 
forming prodigies  of  valor  to  the  last.  According  to  writings 
which  were  found  in  the  camp  of  the  conquered,  the  whole 
number  of  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  Helvetii  and  their 
allies  was  368,000  souls  at  the  beginning  of  the  ill-fated 
expedition,  but  Caesar  counted  only  1 10,000,  which  he  sent 
back  that  they  might  rebuild  their  former  homes  before  the 
German  tribes  should  advance  into  the  vacant  territory. 

This  is  the  naked  outline  of  a  movement  which  is  not  devoid 
of  a  certain  epic  grandeur  and  gloom,  and  is  eminently  suited 


HELVETIA   AND    THE  MOHAN  OCCUPATION.      23 

for  poetic  treatment  at  the  hands  of  some  one  who  could  appre- 
ciate the  barbaric  pathos  of  the  theme. 

From  henceforth  the  Helvetii  were  bound  to  Rome  by  an 
alliance,  the  terms  of  which  have  unfortunately  not  been 
handed  down  to  us.  They  were  not  mere  subjects  of  the 
Romans,  for  they  continued  to  enjoy  a  certain  amount  of  self- 
government,  nor  were  they  on  the  other  hand  merely  allies, 
since  their  country  was  held  by  the  armed  forces  of  their  con- 
querors. Mommsen  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  Helvetii  were 
in  possession  of  the  highest  degree  of  liberty  which  was  con- 
sistent with  their  position  as  a  conquered  people.  Their  duties 
seem  to  have  consisted  principally  in  paying  a  share  of  the 
yearly  tribute  which  was  levied  from  Gaul,  in  watching  the 
German  frontier,  and  submitting  to  the  small  duties  imposed 
upon  their  commerce ;  for  the  rest  they  were  free  to  keep  their 
national  customs,  their  language  and  religion. 

In  the  next  year,  57  B.  C.,  the  three  tribes  in  the  Valais  also 
succumbed  to  the  Romans,  and  about  the  same  time  Caesar 
founded  an  important  military  stronghold  on  the  lake  of  Geneva, 
the  Colonia  Julia  Equestris,  now  Nyon.  In  15  B.  C.,  the  con- 
quest of  the  whole  of  what  is  now  Swiss  territory  was  completed 
by  the  victory  of  Tiberius  and  Drusus,  the  stepsons  of  the 
Emperor  Augustus,  over  the  warlike  Raeti.  It  is  this  latter 
victory  which  Horace  celebrates  in  Ode  XIV,  addressed  to 
Augustus,  where,  with  somewhat  transparent  flattery,  he  ascribes 
the  honor  as  due  to  the  emperor  instead  of  his  generals.  In 
the  division  of  the  empire,  instituted  by  Augustus,  the  whole  of 
Eastern  Switzerland  was  assigned  to  the  province  of  Raetia, 
the  Valais  formed  a  separate  district  known  as  Vallis  Poeninus, 
Ticino  remained  with  Italy,  and  all  the  rest  was  counted  to  Gaul, 
so  that  the  country  retained  to  a  certain  extent  the  motley 
political  appearance  which  had  characterized  it  in  pre-Roman 
times. 

The  first  care  of  the  Romans  after  acquiring  new  possessions 
was  to  provide  them  with  a  complete  system  of  roads,  which, 


24  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

though  built  primarily  for  military  purposes,  eventually  also 
became  the  highways  of  commerce,  and  the  arteries  of  civiliza- 
tion. Helvetia,  Raetia  and  the  Valais  formed  no  exception  to 
this  rule,  especially  as  the  positions  of  these  provinces  made 
them  of  first  importance  as  connecting  links  between  the  sys- 
tems of  defence  upon  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube  on  the  one 
hand  and  Italy,  the  mother  country,  on  the  other. 

Of  the  numerous  roads  which  traversed  the  country,  one 
started  from  Milan  (Mediolanum),  passed  to  the  head  of  the 
lake  of  Como,  over  the  Spliigen  Pass  to  Chur  (Curia)  and  the 
lake  of  Constance ;  another  from  Aosta  (Augusta  Praetoria) 
over  the  Great  St.  Bernard  (In  summo  Pennine)  to  Martigny 
(Octodurum),  running  thence  along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake 
Leman  to  Nyon  (Colonia  Equestris),  to  Geneva  and  thus  into 
France  ;  and  a  third  branched  off  from  the  latter  road  at  Vevey 
(Viviscus),  and  passed  by  Avenches  (Aventicum),  the  chief  city 
of  the  Helvetii,  to  Solothurn  (Salodurum),  just  beyond  which 
place  it  divided  in  two,  one  part  going  to  Augst  (Augusta 
Raurica)  and  thus  down  the  Rhine,  while  the  other  followed 
the  Aar  to  Windisch  (Vindonissa).  This  place,  now  an  insig- 
nificant village  near  Brugg  in  the  Canton  of  Aargau,  was  chosen 
for  the  centre  of  the  whole  military  system  of  Helvetia,  being 
well  adapted  for  the  purpose  by  its  situation  at  the  juncture 
of  the  Aar,  the  Reuss  and  the  Limmat,  three  small  rivers  which 
gave  access  to  the  interior.  It  was  connected  with  the  military 
stations  dotted  along  the  Rhine  from  the  lake  of  Constance  to 
Cologne,  and  with  Raetia  and  the  Danube  by  means  of  a  road 
running  through  Baden  (Aquae),  Zurich  (Turicum)  and  along 
the  Wallensee  to  Chur.  It  was  the  duty,  therefore,  of  the 
legion  stationed  at  Windisch  to  guard  the  communication 
between  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  Roman  army,  on  the 
Rhine  and  the  Danube. 

That  this  standing  army  was  at  times  anything  but  welcome 
to  the  native  population,  is  illustrated  by  a  conflict  which  broke 
out  in  69  A.  D.,  between  the  Helvetii  and  the  arrogant  soldiery 
in  their  midst.  Tacitus  relates  that  after  the  murder  of  the 


HELVETIA   AND   THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION.      25 

emperor  Galba  and  the  accession  of  Vitellius,  a  certain  Alienus 
Caecina,  officer  of  Vitellius,  passed  through  Helvetia,  where  the 
people  who  had  not  yet  heard  of  Galba's  assassination,  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  Vitellius.  Thirsting  for 
war,  Caecina  seized  the  first  pretext  to  attack  the  Helvetii; 
they  resisted  and  were  massacred  by  the  thousands  in  an 
uneven  contest,  escaping  complete  annihilation  only  by  abject 
submission  and  through  the  eloquence  of  one  of  their 
orators.1 

Switzerland  is  much  richer  in  Roman  remains  than  is  popu- 
larly supposed.  Extensive  discoveries  have  been  made  in  many 
places,  notably  at  Nyon  on  the  lake  of  Geneva,  which  the 
traveller  will  remember  as  a  little  castled  town,  with  terrace 
and  arbored  walks,*from  whence  Mont  Blanc  is  seen  in  all  its 
grandeur ;  also  at  Augst  near  Basel,  now  an  insignificant  ham- 
let, but  once  a  stronghold  of  Roman  civilization.  Baden  near 
Zurich  has  proved  equally  attractive  to  archeologists.  It  is 
described  by  Tacitus  in  his  day  as  "  a  place  which  during  long 
years  of  peace  had  grown  to  be  like  a  city,  much  frequented  on 
account  of  the  attraction  of  its  salubrious  waters."  This  place 
is  still  a  favorite  resort  for  invalids,  with  its  long  rows  of  hotels, 
and  the  picturesque  medieval  ruin  surmounting  all.  But  the 
principal  Roman  remains  are  to  be  found  at  Avenches,  the 
modern  successor  of  ancient  Aventicum,  the  chief  city  of 
the  Helvetii. 

Like  many  another  place  of  historic  interest  in  Switzerland, 
Avenches  lies  off  the  beaten  track,  so  that  in  order  to  visit  it, 
one  must  turn  aside  and  make  it  the  object  of  a  special  journey. 
It  is  charmingly  situated  upon  a  hill,  in  sight  of  the  lake  of 
Morat  and  the  Jura  mountains,  and  surrounded  by  fertile  lands 
under  cultivation  —  altogether  a  miniature  town  of  medieval 
aspect  with  castle,  wall  and  gate.  Old  Aventicum,  however, 
occupied  much  more  ground  than  modern  Avenches ;  it  lay  for 
the  most  part  in  the  plain  to  the  east  enclosed  by  a  great  wall 
some  four  miles  in  circumference.  The  present  town  is  perched 

1  History,  Book  L,  Chap.  67-69. 


26  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

upon  what  was  formerly  the  Castellum.  On  alighting  at  the 
railroad  station  the  visitor  immediately  perceives  the  remnants 
of  the  old  wall,  which  can  be  readily  traced  through  its  entire 
length ;  in  fact  one  of  its  numerous  towers  still  remains  standing 
to  bear  witness  to  the  formidable  proportions  it  must  have 
possessed.  From  the  site  of  the  ancient  Forum,  now  a  field  of 
grass,  there  rises  an  architectural  fragment  of  great  beauty 
some  forty  feet  in  height,  at  once  massive  and  graceful.  It 
resembles  a  column,  but  has  now  been  identified  as  part  of  an 
arcade  which  formerly  flanked  the  Forum.  This  ruin  is  known 
locally  as  the  Cigognier>  because  it  used  to  be  a  favorite  place 
for  storks  (French  cigogne)  to  build  their  nests  upon.  Travel- 
ing from  the  Rhine  to  the  lake  of  Geneva,  Byron  passed 
through  Avenches,  and  it  is  to  the  Cigognier  that  he  refers 
in  his  "Childe  Harold's  Pilgrimage"  : 

"  By  a  lone  wall  a  lonelier  column  rears 

A  grey  and  grief-worn  aspect  of  old  days, 
'Tis  the  last  remnant  of  the  wreck  of  years, 

And  looks  as  with  the  wild  bewilder'd  gaze 

Of  one  to  stone  converted  by  amaze, 
Yet  still  with  consciousness  ;  and  there  it  stands, 

Making  a  marvel  that  it  not  decays, 
When  the  coeval  pride  of  human  hands, 
Levell'd  Aventicum,  hath  strew'd  her  subject  lands."1 

The  poet  has  been  very  successful  in  rendering  the  impres- 
sion which  this  ruin  produces  upon  the  mind,  and  it  is  unfortu- 
nate that  in  the  next  stanza  he  should  dilate  with  enthusiastic 
praise  upon  the  story  of  a  certain  Julia  Alpinula,  which  is  now 
known  to  have  been  invented  out  of  whole  cloth  by  a  forger  of 
inscriptions.  It  seems  to  have  been  Byron's  fate  to  immortal- 
ize unwittingly  many  a  falsehood  or  a  half-truth. 

A  few  fragments  of  fluted  columns  and  stray  bits  of  ornament, 
still  lying  on  the  ground  or  gathered  into  the  local  museum, 
alone  attest  the  ancient  beauty  of  the  Forum.  Against  the 
hillside,  across  the  Forum,  and  partly  hidden  by  brushwood,  are 

1  Third  Canto,  Stanza  LXV. 


HELVETIA   AND    THE  ROMAN   OCCUPATION.       27 

the  concrete  substructure  of  a  theatre.  Near  by  also  are  indi- 
cations of  four  Guild  Houses,  one  belonging  to  a  fraternity  of 
boatmen,  and  at  the  Eastern  entrance  to  the  modern  town  there 
is  an  oblong  depression  which  reveals  the  former  presence  of 
an  amphitheatre.  Finally  in  the  extensive  fields  beyond,  in  the 
direction  of  the  wall-tower,  the  remains  of  baths  have  been 
found,  as  well  as  an  unusually  rich  collection  of  mosaic  floors, 
statuettes,  amphorae,  drainage  pipes,  and  all  the  usual  evidences 
of  Roman  civilization. 

Aventicum  reached  its  period  of  greatest  prosperity  under 
Vespasian  and  Titus,  who  both  favored  it  with  their  imperial 
protection,  doubtless  because  according  to  Suetonius,  Vespa- 
sian's father,  surnamed  Sabinus,  had  "turned  usurer  [or 
banker,  as  we  should  say]  amongst  the  Helvetii,  and  there 
died."1 

When  under  Domitian  and  Trajan  the  Roman  empire 
received  the  greatest  extension  to  which  it  ever  attained,  Hel- 
vetia ceased  to  be  a  frontier  province,  the  soldiery  were  pushed 
forward  across  the  Rhine,  and  a  long  period  of  peace  set  in, 
which  lasted  not  far  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The 
land  advanced  many  degrees  in  the  knowledge  of  the  peaceful 
arts  and  of  a  wider  culture,  Roman  gods  and  goddesses  sub- 
planted  the  Celtic  divinities,  the  theatre  and  gymnasium  flour- 
ished, and  the  barbarians  were  to  all  appearances  completely 
Romanized.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  best  side  of 
this  superimposed  civilization  became  in  any  sense  an  organic 
part  of  the  character  of  the  Helvetii,  whether  they  did  not 
rather  absorb  too  readily  its  vices  without  comprehending  its 
higher  aspects,  and  in  assuming  the  Roman  did  not  often  bury 
the  best  qualities  of  the  Helvetian.  All  national  enthusiasm 
vanished  forever  to  give  place  to  a  skin-deep  and  uncertain  pol- 
ish, for,  as  even  Tacitus  in  his  day  says,  "  Of  late  years  the  his- 
tory of  their  ancestors  was  their  only  glory." 

This  welcome  era  of  peace  came  to  an  end  during  the  reign 
of  Valerianus  and  Gallienus,  when  the  German  hordes,  taking 

1  Lives  of  the  Twelve  Caesars. 


28  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

advantage  of  the  confusion  into  which  the  empire  had  been 
plunged  by  the  claims  of  rivals  to  the  throne,  succeeded  in 
breaking  through  the  Roman  system  of  defence.  The  Alam- 
anni,  who  were  later  to  play  so  great  a  part  in  the  destinies  of 
Switzerland,  invaded  Helvetia  and  destroyed  Aventicum,  which 
was  never  after  rebuilt.  With  a  mighty  effort  the  Romans 
under  Aurelian  and  Diocletian  r.eoccupied  some  of  their  for- 
mer strongholds  and  maintained  the  line  of  defence  upon  the 
Rhine,  but  everything  beyond  that  river  was  lost  to  them. 
Helvetia  once  more  became  a  frontier  province  full  of  soldiers, 
and  exposed  to  continual  ravages  from  marauding  German 
tribes ;  the  land  became  as  unsafe  as  it  had  been  before  the 
Roman  occupation.  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  traveling  through 
Gaul  in  the  suite  of  the  emperor  Julian,  enumerates  amongst 
other  cities,  "Aventicum  also,  now  a  deserted  city,  but  once  of 
no  mean  account,  as  the  half  ruined  buildings  even  now  testify."1 

Modern  Avenches,  an  insignificant  country  town  with 
perhaps  a  tenth  of  old  Aventicum's  population,  visited  at 
most  by  a  stray  archeologist,  and  forgotten  by  the  great  world 
outside,  admirably  illustrates  the  decay  which  overtook  that 
ephemeral  civilization  the  Romans  had  tried  to  graft  upon 
the  Celtic  Helvetii.  The  fall  of  Helvetia  is  best  symbolized 
by  the  column  whose  "grey  and  grief -worn  aspect"  appealed 
so  strongly  to  the  poet. 

But  there  was  a  ray  of  light  in  all  this  gloom,  one  great 
mitigating  circumstance  in  this  shame  and  degradation,  for  it 
was  just  about  this  time  that  Christianity  made  its  appearance 
in  the  regions  north  of  the  Alps. 

Such  was  the  confusion  of  the  period  that  it  is  impossible  to 
find  perfectly  trustworthy  documentary  evidence  in  regard  to 
this  introduction  of  Christianity.  The  only  testimony  of  any 
sort  is  derived  from  a  number  of  legends  and  traditions  pre- 
served by  the  Catholic  Church.  Unfortunately  they  are  so  much 
distorted  by  miraculous  interpolations  that  the  task  of  extracting 
the  historical  germs  they  may  contain,  is  well  nigh  hopeless. 

ixv,  ii. 


HELVETIA  AND   THE  ROMAN  OCCUPATION.      29 

There  is  a  tradition,  perhaps  the  least  authenticated  of  all, 
though  singularly  beautiful  in  its  details,  concerning  a  St. 
Beatus  whose  cave  and  ruined  chapel  are  shown  to  travelers 
at  a  spot  above  the  carriage  road  which  flanks  the  northern 
shore  of  Lake  Thun ;  another  connects  a  St.  Lucius  with  the 
city  of  Chur;  but  the  most  important  and,  on  the  whole,  best 
supported  legend  is  that  of  St.  Maurice.  The  story  goes  that 
a  Christian  legion,  recruited  from  Thebai's  in  Egypt,  and  com- 
manded by  an  officer  Maurice,  was  massacred  while  at  Agaunum 
in  the  Lower  Valais,  by  command  of  the  Emperor  Maximianus, 
who  was  just  then  carrying  on  a  vigorous  persecution  of  the 
Christians  throughout  the  Empire.  In  memory  of  this  mar- 
tyrdom the  name  of  the  place  was  changed  to  St.  Maurice. 
This  particular  legend  has  been  much  discussed  because  it 
forms  the  starting  point  for  a  number  of  others,  whose  authen- 
ticity, therefore,  depends  upon  it.  After  the  persecutions  in 
the  Valais,  namely,  many  Christians  are  supposed  to  have  fled 
to  other  parts ;  notably  the  Sts.  Felix  and  Regula  to  Zurich  and 
Ursus  and  Victor  to  Solothurn.  It  is  significant  that  the  first 
Bishop  on  Swiss  territory,  mentioned  by  reliable  records,  was  a 
certain  Theodor  or  Theodul,  resident  in  the  Lower  Valais,  at 
Martigny,  in  381. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  historical  importance  of  the 
legends,  it  is  likely  that  the  most  potent  influence  was  exerted, 
not  by  regular  missionaries,  but  by  Christianized  officials,  mer- 
chants and  soldiers  who  came  into  contact  with  the  people. 
In  other  words  Christianity  was  introduced  as  civilization  had 
been,  by  a  multitude  of  unrecorded  acts,  and  by  a  process  of 
infiltration  rather  than  of  inundation — from  Gaul  into  Geneva, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  from  Italy  into  the  Valais  on  the  other, 
creeping  along  the  high  roads  of  commerce  and  of  military 
enterprise. 

No  Roman  inscriptions  have  been  found  in  Switzerland 
which  date  from  a  later  period  than  the  reign  of  Constant- 
ine,  and  no  coins  after  Valentinian  I.,  for  by  that  time  the 
limit  of  Rome's  power  of  resistance  in  Helvetia  had  been 


SO  THE  RISE  OF   THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

reached.  Valentinian,  indeed,  still  made  a  last  attempt  by 
erecting  a  stronghold  at  the  sharp  bend  of  the  Rhine,  and 
naming  it  Basileia,  in  Greek  "The  Royal,"  now  Basel,  but  the 
hour  had  come  when,  demoralized  by  internal  corruptions,  the 
Roman  Empire  could  no  longer  hold  in  check  the  vigorous, 
unspoiled  barbarians  upon  the  frontiers. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    TEUTONIC    ANCESTORS    OF    THE    SWISS. 

IN  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  the  final  and  successful 
invasion  of  the  German  nations  broke  over  the  Roman 
Empire  and  changed  the  face  of  Europe. 

In  406,  or  407,  the  nation  of  the  Alamanni,  crossing  the 
Rhine  and  the  Jura,  took  possession  of  northern  Helvetia.  A 
few  years  later,  in  443,  the  nation  of  the  Burgundians  settled 
on  the  shores  of  the  lake  of  Geneva,  in  Sabaudia,  or  modern 
Savoy,  and  in  southern  Helvetia.  What  is  now  the  Canton  of 
Ticino  remained  with  Italy,  and  shared  the  fate  of  that  country 
until  far  into  the  Middle  Ages.  The  inhabitants  of  Raetia, 
the  modern  Canton  of  Graubiinden,  in  their  mountain  fast- 
nesses alone  escaped  almost  untouched  from  the  tide  of  Teu- 
tonic invasion. 

This  distribution  of  the  invaders  must  be  distinctly  borne  in 
mind,  for  the  above-mentioned  races,  with  the  addition  of  a 
remnant  of  Celts,  form  the  basis  of  population  in  the  four  divi- 
sions of  modern  Switzerland  —  the  German,  French,  Italian 
and  Roman sch  speaking  districts.  Although  the  political 
aspect  of  these  divisions  has  changed  more  than  once  since 
then,  the  races  have  remained  practically  the  same  to  this  day. 

The  Alamanni  are  identical  with  the  Semnones  of  Tacitus. 
They  were  the  main  branch  of  the  Suevi,  and  in  fact  always 
called  themselves  Schwaben,  for  the  name  Alamanni  was  given 
to  them  by  Greek  and  Latin  authors.  Authorities  are  divided 
as  to  the  etymology  of  this  latter  name.  Baumann  explains  it 
as  meaning  "The  men  of  Alah,"  /.  e.  of  the  sacred  grove, 
while  Joh.  Meyer  as  equivalent  to  "All  men"  (nniversi 
homines). 

31 


32  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

When  first  mentioned  by  writers,  the  Alamanni  were  dwell- 
ing in  the  region  between  the  rivers  Elbe  and  Oder.  Thence 
they  moved  southward  and  established  themselves  between  the 
Main  and  the  Rhine,  and  it  was  from  this  territory  as  a  basis 
of  operations  that  they  made  incursions  into  Helvetia,  destroy- 
ing Aventicum  in  264,  but  sustaining  repeated  reverses  at  the 
hands  of  succeeding  emperors,  until  their  final  invasion  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century. 

The  fact  that  the  descendants  of  these  Alamanni  were  des- 
tined some  eight  centuries  later  to  found  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion, lends  a  special  value  to  everything  which  concerns  the 
economic,  social  and  political  organization  of  the  Teutonic 
invaders.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  sufficient  material 
for  a  comprehensive  study  of  their  condition  at  this  early  time 
has  not  come  down  to  us.  The  body  of  law,  known  as  Pactus 
lex  Alamannorum  throws  considerable  light  on  their  public  life 
two  centuries  later,  but  for  the  study  of  the  fifth  century  we 
are  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with  the  examination  of  the 
few  remains  which  they  have  left,  of  the  dialects  and  the 
names  of  places  in  German  -  speaking  Switzerland  of  to-day, 
and  with  certain  deductions  which  may  be  established  by 
analogy  with  other  Teutonic  nations. 

It  may  be  inferred  from  the  presence  of  distinct  dialects  in 
well-defined  areas  of  modern  German  speaking  Switzerland, 
that  the  Alamanni  took  possession  of  the  country  in  detached 
groups,  at  various  intervals  of  time,  and  not  in  one  general 
invasion.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  they  forcibly 
reduced  the  Helveto-Roman  population  to  slavery,  and  dis- 
tributed their  lands  amongst  themselves.  The  whole  social 
fabric  of  the  Romans  was  torn  to  shreds,  and  in  the  general 
catastrophe,  Christianity,  itself  a  newcomer,  was  almost  entirely 
supplanted  by  a  primitive  heathenism.  Only  here  and  there 
little  communities  which  had  been  overlooked,  or  had  intrenched 
themselves  in  the  mountains,  remained  to  testify  to  the  former 
presence  of  Latin  civilization.  It  is  significant  of  the  sweep- 
ing change  which  took  place,  that  the  great  majority  of  the 


THE   TEUTONIC  ANCESTORS   OF  THE  SWISS     33 

modern  names  of  places  in  the  territory,  which  the  Alamarmi 
took  in  possession  at  that  time,  are  Teutonic  in  origin,  while 
the  few  Celto-Roman  designations,  which  were  retained,  were 
completely  Teutonized,  e.  g.t  Turicum  was  changed  to  Zurich 
and  Vindonissa  to  Windisch.  It  also  seems  probable  that 
the  invaders  found  Helvetia  in  great  part  unreclaimed  or 
devastated,  covered  with  forests  and  swamps,  for  a  noticeably 
large  number  of  names  are  compounds  of  words  signifying 
forests,  clearings  and  moors. 

The  greatest  interest,  however,  centres  in  their  system  of 
land  tenure,  for  if  it  can  be  stated  as  a  general  truth  that  the 
key  to  the  history  of  all  nations  is  to  be  found  in  the  manner 
in  which  they  distribute  and  hold  the  land,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  this  truth  is  especially  patent  in  the  case  of  the 
Alamanni. 

Following  the  natural  bent  of  the  Teutonic  race,  they  set- 
tled principally  in  isolated  farmsteads  (Einzelhofe).  This  is 
sufficiently  proved  by  the  prevalence  of  names  of  places  with 
patronymic  forms,  of  which  the  name  of  Zollikon,  now  a  vil- 
lage on  the  lake  of  Zurich,  may  be  taken  as  an  illustration. 
The  original  settler  was  a  certain  Zollo ;  his  descendants  were 
known  as  the  Zollinger ;  and  the  group  of  their  farms  (hofe) 
was  then  called  Zollinghofen,  shortened  in  course  of  time  into 
Zollikon.  The  Alamanni  undoubtedly  also  founded  open  vil- 
lages and  hamlets,  surrounded  by  wide-reaching,  unused  land, 
but  avoided  until  much  later  the  ruined  towns  which  they 
found  studding  the  country.  It  is  impossibe  to  follow  out  in 
every  detail  the  manner  in  which  they  parcelled  out  the  land 
amongst  themselves,  but  there  can  be  no  question  that  there 
grew  up  in  their  midst  in  very  early  times  the  peculiar  system 
of  the  Almend,  a  system  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  notice 
particularly  on  account  of  its  transcending  importance  in  the 
life  of  the  Swiss  people.  Briefly  stated  the  Almend  was  the 
undivided  land  which  surrounded  a  settlement.  It  consisted, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  ground,  of  meadow,  pasture  and 
forest,  and  also  of  swamp,  lake,  river  or  mountain.  As  long 


34  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

as  the  country  remained  thinly  populated,  the  supply  of  undi- 
vided land  between  the  settlements  remained  practically  unlim- 
ited, and  there  was  of  course  no  need  of  defining  any  one's 
rights  to  that  land,  but  when  in  course  of  time  the  popula- 
tion increased  and  the  settlements  expanded,  the  want  of 
more  land  naturally  made  itself  felt,  and  regulations  were 
adopted  for  the  management  of  this  undivided  land. 

Some  doubt  has  recently  been  expressed  as  to  whether  these 
regulations  took  a  communistic  form  at  first,  whether  the  right 
to  the  Almend  was  vested  in  the  freemen  of  a  settlement  col- 
lectively or  distributively.  There  is  in  point  of  fact  no  subject 
in  history  more  hopelessly  confusing  than  this  of  the  primitive 
Teutonic  communities.  Indeed  it  is  a  question  whether  histori- 
ans, with  the  material  now  at  their  command,  will  ever  be  able 
to  establish  a  definite  and  completely  satisfactory  theory  in 
regard  to  the  origin  and  growth  of  these  communities.  Never- 
theless there  seems  to  be  a  general  agreement  that,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  rights  of  individuals  as  such  in  the  Almend 
at  first,  these  rights  were  gradually  supplanted  in  the  course  of 
the  Middle  Ages  by  those  of  the  community  as  a  whole.  The 
cattle  of  the  whole  settlement  grazed  upon  the  pastures  and 
every  householder  cut  his  share  of  wood  in  the  forest.  In  so 
far  as  the  Almend  served  as  a  boundary  between  settlements  it 
was  also  called  the  Mark,  and  the  community  organized  to 
use  it,  an  Association  of  the  Mark  (Markgenossenshaft}. 

Upon  their  entrance  into  Helvetia  the  Alamanni  had  as  yet 
remained  almost  uninfluenced  by  Roman  civilization,  with 
which  they  had  in  reality  hardly  come  into  contact.  They 
were  still  Pagans  and  were  not  Christianized  until  the  advent  of 
the  Irish  missionary  Columban  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century  —  more  than  two  hundred  years  later.  During  this 
period  all  the  rudiments  of  the  purely  Teutonic  institutions 
which  they  had  brought  with  them,  such  as  the  system  of  the 
Almend,  their  organization  into  Hundreds  and  Counties  with 
open-air  legislative  and  judiciary  assemblies,  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  grow  and  consolidate  into  definite  forms.  It  was  then 


THE  TEUTONIC  ANCESTORS   OF  THE  SWISS.     35> 

that  the  seed  was  sown  on  Swiss  soil  from  which  eventually 
arose  the  free  communities  whose  welding  together  has  pro- 
duced the  Confederation  of  to-day. 

There  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  similarity  between  the 
Alamannian  invasion  of  Helvetia  and  that  of  Britain  by  the 
Saxon  and  English  tribes.  It  has  so  far,  I  believe,  escaped  the 
notice  of  historians,  and  yet  it  explains  to  us  as  nothing  else 
can,  why  Switzerland  and  England  (with  her  colonies  and  the 
United  States)  have  retained  Teutonic  institutions  in  greater 
purity  than  all  the  other  states  founded  by  Teutonic  races. 
Both  the  Alamanni  and  the  Saxons  were  practically  untouched 
by  Roman  civilization  when  they  made  their  conquests,  both 
nations  were  still  pagan,  and  undermined  Christianity  in  Hel- 
vetia and  Britain  so  effectually  that  foreign  missionaries  were 
obliged  to  revive  that  religion  in  both  countries  at  a  later 
date.  From  the  arrival  of  the  Saxons  to  the  landing  of  Augus- 
tine was  an  interval  of  some  hundred  and  forty  years ;  from 
the  invasion  of  the  Alamanni  to  the  advent  of  Columban  about 
two  hundred  years,  so  that  primitive  Teutonic  institutions  had 
every  opportunity  to  establish  themselves  in  Switzerland  and 
England  with  a  tenacity  which  subsequent  foreign  influences 
were  never  able  to  shake. 

A  few  years  after  the  Alamanni  had  thus  taken  forcible 
possession  of  northern  Helvetia,  another  Teutonic  nation,  the 
Burgundians,  acquired  Savoy  and  southern  Helvetia  by  peace- 
ful means. 

As  late  as  443  these  Burgundians  still  had  their  habitation 
in  the  region  surrounding  Worms,  where  in  fact,  the  events 
narrated  in  the  Nibelungenlied  took  place  in  their  midst.  But 
in  that  year  they  pressed  southward  into  the  Roman  province 
of  Sabaudia,  and  were  quartered  upon  the  inhabitants  of  that 
district  by  the  Roman  general  Ae'tius.  They  did  not  reduce 
the  Celto-Roman  population  to  slavery,  as  the  Alamanni  had 
done  in  northern  Helvetia,  but  were  content  to  accept  from 
them  a  certain  share  of  their  possessions :  two  thirds  of  their 
fields  and  one  half  of  the  rest  of  their  goods.  In  this  manner 


36  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  two  nationalities  were  thrown  intimately  together,  and 
before  long  were  inextricably  interwoven  the  country  over. 
From  this  peculiar  relation  between  the  two  nationalities  arose 
the  fact  that,  wherever  the  Burgundians  penetrated,  Roman 
customs,  law  and  language  were  retained,  whereas  these  were 
utterly  rooted  out,  wherever  the  Alamanni  gained  permanent 
possession.  Moreover  the  Burgundians,  upon  their  entry  into 
Sabaudia,  had  already  been  Christianized  in  the  Arian  faith, 
and  were  apparently  by  nature  also  more  receptive  of  civiliz- 
ation than  the  Alamanni,  so  that  they  soon  discarded  their 
Teutonic  traditions  and  adopted  the  principal  features  of 
Roman  culture.  Under  a  certain  King  Gundobad  (473-516) 
the  Burgundian  state  reached  the  height  of  its  prosperity. 
This  ruler  issued  a  collection  of  laws,  remembered  in  French 
Switzerland  as  the  "Loi  Gombette,"  which  if  anything  had  still 
been  needed,  completed  the  Romanization  of  the  Burgundians. 

There  are  indications  that  the  two  nations  of  the  Alamanni 
and  Burgundians,  these  Teutonic  ancestors  of  the  modern 
Swiss,  did  not  live  in  peace  with  one  another.  The  frontier 
line  between  them  wavered  for  a  long  time  to  and  fro,  as  a 
result  of  their  mutual  encroachments,  before  definitely  following 
about  the  same  course  which  may  be  traced  to-day,  dividing 
French  from  German-speaking  Switzerland.  The  Alamanni, 
for  example,  at  one  time  pushed  over  the  Jura  mountains,  but 
were  later  forced  back  by  the  Burgundians  ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  chronicle,  known  to  scholars  as  that  of  Fredegar, 
makes  mention  of  an  invasion  of  the  Alamanni  into  the  region 
of  Avenches,  which  they  devastated  with  fire  and  sword. 

Confusion,  therefore,  reigned  supreme  in  the  territory  now 
comprised  by  the  name  of  Switzerland.  With  two  rival 
nations  struggling  for  supremacy  and  holding  each  other  in 
check,  it  was  evident  that  the  country  was  practically  defence- 
less, and  at  the  mercy  of  any  determined  third  power. 

Indeed,  hardly  had  the  Alamanni  and  the  Burgundians 
acquired  fixed  domains  when  they  were  themselves  incorpo- 
rated into  the  rising  kingdom  of  the  Franks,  just  then  enter- 


THE  TEUTONIC  ANCESTORS   OF  THE  SWISS.     37 

ing  upon  that  great  career  of  conquest  which  was  to  make  of  it 
the  veritable  successor  to  the  ruined  Roman  Empire  of  the 
West. 

It  appears  that  while  extending  their  depredations  into  Gaul, 
under  the  leadership  of  their  Duke,  the  Alamanni  came  into  col- 
lision with  the  Franks,  and  in  469  were  completely  routed  in  a 
severely  contested  battle  by  Chlodwig,  the  Merowingian,  ruler 
of  the  Salic  Franks.  The  scene  of  this  battle  was  probably 
somewhere  on  the  Upper  Rhine,  but  not  at  Ziilpich,  as  has 
been  erroneously  believed.  A  part  of  the  conquered  Alamanni 
took  refuge  in  the  Raetian  mountains,  at  that  time  belonging 
to  the  kingdom  of  the  East  Goths  under  Theodoric,  the  Great, 
but  in  536  returned  under  the  dominion  of  the  Franks,  when 
Raetia  was  ceded  to  these  conquerors  by  the  East  Goths. 
Nor  was  it  long  before  the  Burgundians  also  began  to  feel  the 
heavy  hand  of  their  Frankish  neighbors.  After  Gundobad's 
death  and  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  his  weak  and  priest- 
ridden  son  Sigismund,  the  Burgundian  Kingdom  began  to 
decline.  Chlodwig's  sons,  Childebert  I.  and  Chlotar  I.,  deposed 
Sigismund,  and  in  534  defeated  his  brother  Godomar  at  Autun, 
therewith  incorporating  Burgundy  into  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Franks. 

Thus  was  the  whole  of  what  is  modern  Switzerland,  with  the 
exception  of  Ticino,  once  more  united  in  subjection  to  a  single 
power,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Roman  occupation,  to  share  for 
centuries  in  the  varying  vicissitudes  of  the  Merowingian  and 
Carolingian  rulers  of  the  Franks. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  FRANKS. 

A  CERTAIN  amount  of  credit  is  due  to  the  Franks  for  the 
manner  in  which  they  governed  their  new  possessions. 
Instead  of  attempting  to  break  down  ruthlessly  whatever  was 
characteristic  of  the  two  nations,  in  a  mistaken  effort  to  absorb 
them  more  readily,  they  recognized  the  wisdom  of  allowing 
each  what  was  distinctive  in  its  laws,  whenever  this  was  con- 
sistent with  their  own  supreme  rule.  Thus  it  was  that  the 
Loi  Gombette  was  permitted  to  remain  in  force  in  Burgundy, 
and  in  Alamannia  a  body  of  native  law,  the  Pactus  lex 
A  lamannorum. 

This  latter  collection,  which  has  come  down  to  us  only  in 
fragments,  gives  us  the  first  documentary  insight  into  the  life 
of  the  Alamanni.  It  appears  to  have  been  begun  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century,  and  does  not  differ  materially  from 
the  other  Teutonic  folk  laws,  dating  from  that  period. 

There  was  apparently  no  pretence  of  democracy  amongst  the 
Alamanni,  using  the  term  in  its  modern  sense,  for  the  pactus 
clearly  distinguishes  two  great  classes  of  men  —  the  freemen 
and  the  slaves.  The  freemen  were  subdivided  into  nobles 
(primi),  freemen  land-owners  (medii),  and  freemen  without 
land  of  their  own  (minoflidi} ;  the  slaves  into  two  classes : 
freedmen  (liti),  with  certain  rights  from  their  masters,  and 
bondmen  (servi},  who  enjoyed  no  rights  whatever,  and  were 
sold  from  hand  to  hand  like  cattle.  German  scholars  generally 
use  the  names  of  Knechte  or  Leibeigene  for  the  bondmen  and 
Horige  for  the  freedmen,  a  distinction  which  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  as  it  will  receive  important  application  in  dealing  with 
the  early  Swiss.  It  is  well  to  notice  that  it  was  the  land 

38 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  FRANKS.      39 

which  formed  the  basis  of  classification  amongst  the  Alamanni, 
as  indeed  it  must  amongst  all  nations,  for  in  the  last  analysis 
all  history  is  but  the  record  of  land-holding  amongst  the 
nations.  The  relative  importance  of  the  above  classes  was 
expressed  by  the  Wergeld,  the  fine  which  a  murderer  was 
obliged  to  pay  to  the  kindred  of  his  victim,  from  240  shillings 
(representing  approximately  in  modern  value  4500  dollars)  for 
a  noble,  to  15  shillings  (280  dollars)  for  a  bondman.  King 
Chlotar  II.  (613-628),  or  possibly  Chlotar  III.  (656-660), 
revised  the  pactus  in  order  to  bring  Alamannia  more  com- 
pletely under  the  royal  control,  and  to  favor  the  spread  of 
Christianity  in  that  still  pagan  country.  For  these  purposes  he 
made  the  Duke  of  the  Alamanni,  who  was  the  political  and  mili- 
tary head  of  the  nation,  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Prank- 
ish King,  as  a  sort  of  viceroy,  and  introduced  the  so-called 
County  (Gau)  system.  He  used  the  existing  division  of  the 
country  into  Counties  (subdivided  into  Hundreds),  a  division 
which  had  probably  existed  for  a  long  time,  but  of  which  the 
beginnings  cannot  be  clearly  traced.  Over  each  county  the 
Crown  appointed  a  Count  who  administered  the  law  and  levied 
troops.  He  went  about  and  held  court  in  each  Hundred  within 
his  county  in  the  presence  of  the  freemen  of  the  Hundred 
united  under  their  Centenarius  (later  also  Schultheiss). 

In  fact  it  was  the  county  system,  upon  which  the  Prankish 
Kings  relied,  in  order  to  hold  together  so  heterogeneous  a 
mass  as  their  possessions  grew  to  be.  The  counties  of  Bur- 
gundy were  united  into  groups,  each  group  under  a  superior 
called  Patricius,  and  the  two  counties  of  Raetia  under  a 
Presses. 

Amongst  the  few  events,  which  we  can  cite  with  certainty 
during  the  rule  of  the  Merowingian  Franks,  is  the  revival  of 
Christianity  in  Alamannia.  It  was  more  truly  a  revival  than  a 
reintroduction,  as  one  might  at  first  be  tempted  to  call  it,  for 
Christianity  had  never  entirely  disappeared  from  the  land ;  as 
in  Britain,  so  in  Helvetia  there  were  still  Christian  communi- 
ties in  existence,  which  had  weathered  the  Teutonic  invasion. 


40  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Augst  (later  Basel)  and  Vindonissa  (replaced  by  Constance) 
seem  to  have  been  the  seat  of  bishoprics,  throughout  that 
period  of  confusion,  so  that  when  the  Irish  missionaries  pen- 
etrated into  the  forests  of  Alamannia  two  hundred  years  later, 
they  still  found  evidences  of  primitive  Christianity.  It  would 
be  more  correct,  therefore,  to  say  that  the  machinery  of  the 
Church,  however  incomplete  it  might  have  been,  in  reality 
never  ceased  entirely  to  work,  and  that  the  task  set  before 
Columban  was  very  much  like  that  of  Augustine,  to  revive  and 
reorganize,  rather  than  reintroduce.  It  will,  of  course,  always 
appear  strange  that  this  revival  should  have  been  set  on  foot 
by  foreigners  from  distant  Ireland,  rather  than  by  the  clergy 
of  the  Frankish  conquerors  or  of  neighboring  Burgundy  and 
Raetia,  where  Christianity  was  already  firmly  established. 

Columbanus,  who  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  St. 
Columba,  the  more  famous  founder  of  the  monastery  of  lona, 
was  a  native  of  Leinster  in  Ireland.  In  590  he  left  the  mon- 
astery of  Bangor,  accompanied  by  twelve  companions,  in  order 
to  carry  the  Gospel  to  those  parts  of  the  continent  which  had 
not  yet  received  the  faith.  Without  entering  into  the  ecclesi- 
astical controversy  which  has  existed  for  many  years  in  regard 
to  the  doctrines  of  the  ancient  Irish  Church,  we  may  safely  say 
that  it  did  not  acknowledge  the  supremacy  claimed  by  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  and  certainly  exercised  a  great  deal  of  inde- 
pendence in  the  management  of  its  own  affairs.  The  labors  of 
that  part  of  the  band  which  reached  Alamannia  are  described 
in  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  early  chronicles,  the  Vita  Sancti 
Galli,  written  in  Latin  by  an  unknown  monk  of  the  monastery 
of  St.  Gallen  about  the  year  771. 

Columban  and  his  companions  first  visited  the  court  of 
Theodebert,  King  of  Austrasia,  one  of  the  divisions  into 
which  the  Frankish  Kingdom  had  fallen  at  the  end  of  the  6th 
century.  But  they  resisted  his  entreaties  to  remain  in  his 
country,  and  in  610  pushed  on,  endeavoring  to  find  a  region, 
where  their  missionary  labors  might  be  more  necessary.  "In 
this  search,"  says  the  Vita,  "they  came  to  the  river  Lindima- 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  FRANKS.  41 

cus  (Limmat),  followed  its  course  and  came  unto  a  fortress  by 
name  Turegum  (Zurich).  Thence  they  reached  the  hamlet 
which  men  call  Tucconia  (Tuggen),  and  which  lies  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  lake  from  Turegum.  This  place  pleased 
them,  but  not  the  evil  ways  of  the  dwellers.  Cruelty  and  mis- 
chief ruled  in  their  midst,  and  they  were  given  over  unto  hea- 
then superstitions.  Therefore,  when  the  servants  of  God  had 
made  their  dwelling  amongst  them,  they  taught  them  to  wor- 
ship God,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  For  Gallus,  whose 
miracles,  with  the  Grace  of  Christ  we  shall  be  at  pains  to  tell, 
and  who  followed  the  man  of  God,  Columban,  as  has  already 
been  said,  from  the  beginning  of  his  monastic  life,  and  who 
shared  his  labors,  this  one  began  to  throw  the  images  of  their 
Gods  into  the  lake."  Driven  thence  by  the  enraged  Ala- 
manni,  the  missionaries  went  to  Arbona  (Arbon),  where  they 
met  a  native  priest  by  name  Willimar.  "After  these  days 
they  learned  from  the  same  priest  that  in  the  neighborhood 
there  was  a  ruined  town,  by  name  Pregentia  (Bregenz)  .  .  . 
Now  in  that  place  the  superstitious  people  worshipped  three 
brazen  and  gilded  images,  to  which  they  were  more  attached, 
and  to  which  they  brought  greater  gifts  than  to  the  Creator  of 
the  world.  After  an  eloquent  exhortation  and  before  the  eyes 
of  all,  Gallus  dashed  to  pieces  against  the  rocks  the  images 
which  he  had  taken  away,  and  cast  them  into  the  depths  of  the 
lake  [of  Constance].  Then  did  a  part  of  the  people  confess 
their  sins  and  believed,  but  the  others  went  away  in  anger  and 
filled  with  wrath."  Being  appealed  to  by  these  unbelievers, 
Kunzo,  Duke  of  Alamannia,  bade  the  missionaries  leave  the 
country,  and  so  Columban  crossed  the  Alps  into  Italy  to  make 
new  converts  amongst  the  Lombards,  and  to  die  amongst  them 
not  long  after.  But  Gallus,  afflicted  with  fever,  remained 
behind,  withdrew  into  the  forests  of  North-eastern  Alamannia, 
and  in  614  founded  a  hermitage  near  the  brook  Steinach,  which 
was  destined  to  become  after  his  death  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential centres  of  Christian  civilization  in  Central  Europe. 

However  great  may  be  the  want  of  historical  accuracy  in 


42  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  account  of  this  monkish  chronicler,  who  was  evidently 
bent  as  much  upon  sermonizing  as  upon  recording  the  origin 
of  his  monastery,  he  gives  us  some  valuable  bits  of  information 
in  his  references  to  the  fortress  Turegum,  and  to  Arbona  and 
Pregentia  with  their  surviving  evidences  of  Christian  and 
Roman  civilization,  as  well  as  to  Kunzo  the  Duke  of  Alaman- 
nia  and  Gallus,  the  iconoclast. 

The  hermitage  appears  to  have  enjoyed  a  local  reputation 
from  the  first.  In  the  course  of  the  next  hundred  years  a 
community  had  gathered  in  the  vicinity,  forming  the  hamlet  of 
St.  Gallen,  while  over  the  spot  where  the  hermit's  cell  had 
stood,  a  monastery  was  built,  in  which  the  strict  rules  of  the 
Irish  Church  were  enforced  until  720,  when  they  were 
abolished,  and  those  of  St.  Benedict  substituted  by  an  abbot 
Othmar.  From  this  time  on  St.  Gallen  began  to  play  an 
important  part  in  the  social  and  political  growth  of  Alamannia, 
for  it  was  the  peculiar  vocation  of  the  church  to  distribute 
a  civilization  which  should  take  the  place  of  the  lost  one 
of  ancient  Rome.  All  traces  of  paganism  were  slowly  and 
discreetly  removed,  or  else  invested  with  a  Christian  meaning. 

From  the  eighth  to  the  tenth  century  St.  Gallen  was  one  of 
the  greatest  seats  of  learning  in  Europe,  its  history  being  vir- 
tually that  of  the  best  medieval  culture  during  that  period.  At 
the  risk  then,  of  seeming  to  neglect  the  general  course  of 
events  in  the  Kingdom  of  the  Franks,  but  really  in  order  to 
render  the  history  of  this  monastery  at  once  more  consecutive 
and  more  easily  comprehensible,  the  writer  will  here  proceed 
with  an  account  of  St.  Gallen  during  its  golden  age. 

The  chronicler  of  the  monastery,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  our  information  concerning  this  period,  is  a  monk,  Ekke- 
hart  IV.,  who  wrote  the  Casus  Sancti  Galli  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury. He  gives  a  graphic,  if  somewhat  biassed,  version  of  the 
fortunes  of  the  institution,  and  describes  the  lives  of  the  men 
who  contributed  to  its  greatness.  There  was  the  composer 
of  music,  Notker,  surnamed  the  Stammerer,  the  author  of 
so-called  sequences  in  the  music  of  the  mass.  He  was  the 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  FRANKS.      43 

first  of  three  Notkers  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  abbey.  The 
second  Notker  was  a  physician,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  modern 
medicine,  and  the  third,  surnamed  the  Thick-lipped,  is  reckoned 
among  the  fathers  of  German  prose.  Not  that  his  works  are 
valuable  for  any  new  ideas  contained  in  them,  being  principally 
translations  of  the  classics,  undertaken  to  help  his  pupils  in  the 
monastery  school,  but  because  they  are  amongst  the  earliest 
efforts  ever  made  in  German  to  put  into  writing  the  common 
speech  of  the  people.  Another  personage  was  the  versatile 
Tuotilo,  who  was  "eloquent,  with  a  clear  voice,  skillful  in 
embossing,  and  an  artist  in  painting,  a  musician  as  well  as  his 
companions,  but  superior  to  them  all  on  stringed  instruments 
and  reed-pipes,  for  he  taught  the  sons  of  the  nobility  on  the 
strings  in  a  room  set  apart  by  the  abbot."  Ratpert,  a  native 
of  Zurich,  was  reckoned  one  of  the  most  assiduous  scholars 
and  schoolmasters  of  the  abbey.  On  the  St.  Gallen  records 
are  the  names  of  five  Ekkeharts,  three  of  whom  were  noted 
men.  Ekkehart  I.  was  the  author  of  a  Latin  poem,  and  Ekke- 
hart  II.  is  known  to  the  present  generation  as  the  hero  of  Shef- 
fel's  great  novel  bearing  the  name  of  Ekkehart.  In  that  work 
the  monk  is  described  as  becoming  the  lover  of  Hedwig, 
Duchess  of  Alamannia,  but  Dandliker1  thinks  the  novelist  has 
overstepped  the  bounds  of  actual  historical  truth  in  construct- 
ing his  plot,  and  does  not  believe  that  love  or  indeed  scandal 
ever  entered  into  the  relations  of  the  noblewoman  and  the  monk. 
The  Casus  relates  this  curious  episode  in  the  Abbey's  history  at 
some  length.  It  appears  that  the  beautiful,  but  eccentric,  widow 
had  been  engaged  in  her  youth  to  be  married  to  the  Greek  em- 
peror Constantine,  and  that  she  had  at  that  time  been  carefully 
instructed  in  Greek  learning  by  ambassadors  especially  sent 
for  the  purpose.  Though  this  marriage  never  took  place,  she 
acquired  a  taste  for  learning,  and  as  widow  of  Burkhard  II., 
Duke  of  Alamannia,  she  renewed  her  studies  with  Ekkehart 
II.  She  went  to  the  Abbey  and  requested  that  he  be  given 
to  her  as  teacher,  "  having  the  day  before,  because  he  was  door* 

1  Geschichte  der  Schweiz.    Vol.  I,  p.  187. 


44  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

keeper,  secretly  made  an  agreement  with  him  to  this  effect," 
adds  the  chronicler. 

The  other  Ekkehart  who  deserves  to  be  mentioned  is  the 
author  of  the  chronicle  quoted  above,  a  work  not  free,  by  any 
means,  from  the  usual  inaccuracies  of  medieval  chroniclers,  but 
nevertheless  extremely  valuable  and  eminently  readable. 

Indeed  the  art  of  writing,  a  rare  accomplishment  in  those 
days,  implanted  in  the  monastery  by  the  numerous  Irish 
brethren,  had  during  the  ninth  century  produced  a  truly 
extraordinary  literary  activity.  The  classics  were  much  studied, 
especially  for  practice  in  order  to  acquire  facility  in  reading  the 
Latin  Vulgate  edition  of  the  Bible.  St.  Gallen  also  had  its 
artists,  its  musicians,  carvers,  and  illuminators  of  texts.  The 
so-called  Golden  Psalter,  dating  from  the  ninth  century,  is 
one  of  the  most  highly  prized  examples  of  monkish  art  to  be 
found  anywhere,  a  work  which  is  said  to  exhibit  to-day  colors 
as  fresh  as  though  painted  but  yesterday. 

The  founding  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Gallen  over  the  spot 
where  the  hermitage  of  Gallus  had  stood,  is  typical  of  many 
others  on  Swiss  territory.  Thus  Dissentis  (corruption  of 
Desertind)  was  founded  near  the  source  of  the  Rhine,  prob- 
ably by  Sigisbert,  a  disciple  of  Columban,  and  the  monastery 
of  Reichenau  by  St.  Pirmin  on  an  island  in  the  lake  of  Con- 
stance. A  number  of  churches  and  chapels  sprang  up  in  all 
directions,  so  that  by  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  Ala- 
mannia,  as  well  as  Burgundy,  was  practically  Christianized. 

In  the  meantime  the  family  of  the  Merowingians  died  out 
by  degrees  in  a  manner  which  leaves  an  impression  nothing 
short  of  painful.  They  sank  gradually,  but  inevitably,  through 
an  unbroken  series  of  crimes  and  feuds  to  utter  incapacity. 
The  Prankish  Kingdom  after  having  experienced  several  par- 
titionings,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  fell  apart 
into  Austrasia  and  Neustria,  and  the  rulers  of  these  two 
divisions  ended  by  placing  all  but  purely  nominal  authority 
into  the  hands  of  their  Majores  Domus  (Mayors  of  the  palace). 
The  Austrasian  Pipin  of  Heristal  became  major  domus  of  both 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  FRANKS.  45 

divisions  by  defeating  the  Neustrian  major  domus.  He  was 
followed  by  his  son  Charles  Martel  and  by  his  grandson  Pipin, 
the  Small,  who  deposed  Childeric  III.,  the  last  of  the  decaying 
Merowingians,  in  751,  and  was  then  declared  King  of  the 
Franks.  Pipin's  elder  son  Karlmann  died  in  771,  and  his 
younger  son  Charles  the  Great  (Charlemagne)  then  became 
King  of  the  Franks  and  later,  Emperor  of  the  West. 

With  the  advent  of  Charles  the  Great  to  power  in  768  a 
new  era  began  to  dawn  over  the  Frankish  possessions,  an  era 
marked  first  and  foremost  by  a  centralization  of  the  functions 
of  government  into  the  hands  of  one  man.  The  Carolingian 
idea  of  the  divine  right  of  Kings  resulted  in  consolidating  the 
various  parts  of  the  Empire  into  something  like  a  homoge- 
neous whole,  at  least  during  the  lifetime  of  the  great  emperor. 

There  seems  to  be  no  reason  for  supposing  that  Charle- 
magne gave  particular  attention  to  that  portion  of  his  realm 
which  forms  the  subject  of  this  history.  But  it  is  well  estab- 
lished that  he  must  have  repeatedly  traversed  what  is  now 
Swiss  territory  on  his  way  to  and  from  Italy.  He  certainly 
visited  Geneva  and  Constance,  perhaps  even  St.  Maurice  and 
Zurich.  A  number  of  traditions,  the  truth  of  which  is  not 
sufficiently  proven,  connect  him  especially  with  this  last  place, 
where  the  Institute  of  Canons  (Chorherrenstift)  attached  to 
the  Grossmiinster,  and  its  school,  the  Karolinum,  claimed  to 
have  been  founded  by  him.  Among  the  great  scholars  whom 
he  gathered  around  his  court  were  two  bishops  from  Swiss 
soil,  Hatto  of  Basel  and  Remedius  of  Chur,  and  he  likewise 
confirmed  the  independence  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Gallen  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  see  of  Constance. 

In  order  to  keep  pace  with  the  increasing  size  of  his  empire, 
Charles  the  Great  was  obliged  to  enlarge  the  County  system, 
and  to  bring  it  more  immediately  under  his  control.  Beside 
the  ordinary  Gaugrafen,  he  appointed  Markgrafen  over  the 
border  districts,  and  Sendgrafen,  imperial  messengers,  who 
made  periodical  circuits,  heard  complaints,  and  reported  them 
to  him.  Important  changes  were  made  also  in  the  administra- 


46  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

tion  of  justice,  in  the  levying  of  troops,  and  in  church  polity. 
Under  his  patronage  education  made  great  strides,  agriculture 
was  improved,  and  the  arts  and  sciences  received  a  much 
needed  impetus. 

But  while  the  consolidation  of  the  empire  was  going  on 
apace,  and  the  reforms  of  Charlemagne  were  raising  society  to 
a  higher  level  of  culture,  the  rapid  development  of  the  feudal 
system  was  dividing  his  subjects  into  castes  which  tended  con- 
tinually to  become  less  pliable.  A  wedge  was  thus  introduced 
which  was  destined  after  the  death  of  the  great  emperor  to 
split  the  state  into  countless  factions,  reducing  his  descendants 
to  a  condition  of  pitiable  impotency. 

Like  everything  else  which  is  connected  with  the  organiza- 
tion of  ancient  Germans,  this  institution  of  the  feudal  system 
cannot  be  traced  to  its  origin  with  anything  like  certainty. 
The  custom  of  comradeship,  mentioned  by  Tacitus,  is  probably 
the  earliest  form  in  which  it  appeared.  Under  Charles  the 
Great,  however,  it  reached  a  stage  of  the  highest  development, 
partly  in  consequence  of  his  administrative  changes,  but  prin- 
cipally as  the  result  of  natural  causes,  over  which  he  had  really 
no  control.  It  is,  in  fact,  to  the  concentration  of  land  into  the 
hands  of  a  few  men,  in  a  word  to  the  growth  of  large  estates, 
that  we  must  look  for  the  prime  cause  of  this  extraordinary 
progress  of  the  feudal  system.  The  owners  of  vast  landed 
property  could  not  possibly  cultivate  the  whole  of  their  posses- 
sions themselves.  It  followed,  therefore,  that  they  must  lend 
them  to  others  on  certain  conditions  of  rent  and  personal  ser- 
vice, a  course  which  placed  these  borrowers  in  the  feudal  rela- 
tion to  the  owners  of  the  land.  In  time  a  rigid  class  system 
grew  upon  this  basis  of  land  tenure,  with  hard  and  fast  dis- 
tinctions from  the  sovereign  down  to  the  serf,  each  rank  owing 
services  of  some  sort  to  the  rank  above  it,  and  receiving  in 
return  a  certain  measure  of  protection,  somewhat  arbitrarily 
accorded. 

This  dangerously  artificial  and  inelastic  system  might  per- 
haps have  maintained  itself  unimpaired,  had  it  not  been  for 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE  FRANKS.      47 

the  so-called  decrees  of  immunity  (immunitas  in  the  docu- 
ments), which  the  Frankish  rulers,  notably  Charles  the  Great 
and  his  successors,  saw  fit  to  issue  to  church  institutions. 
Such  decrees  took  the  institutions,  to  which  they  were 
granted,  from  the  control  of  the  Count,  under  whose  jurisdic- 
tion they  would  naturally  have  fallen,  and  placed  them  in  the 
immediate  care  of  an  imperial  Vogt  (corruption  of  advocatus), 
or  bailiff.  This  privilege  is  described  by  German  scholars  as 
Reichsunmittelbarkeit.  It  was  largely  upon  this  same  right  of 
immunity  that  the  Forest  States,  Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwal- 
den,  later  founded  the  Swiss  Confederation,  by  refusing  to 
submit  to  the  hereditary  Counts  of  the  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth centuries.  But  not  only  were  the  heads  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal institutions  liberated  from  the  trammels  of  the  county 
system,  secular  nobles  also,  envious  of  their  success,  managed 
to  acquire  this  much  desired  prerogative,  and  even  the  Counts 
achieved  a  certain  amount  of  independence  by  establishing  the 
principle  of  hereditary  succession.  Thus  did  the  immunity 
make  inroads  into  the  organization  of  the  County  system,  and 
undermine  the  uniform  administration  of  justice  throughout 
the  empire. 

As  long  as  a  strong  sovereign  was  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
plex Frankish  empire,  the  stability  of  the  state  remained  unim- 
paired. While  Charles  the  Great  lived,  he  was  able  to  hold  the 
empire  together  by  the  force  of  his  executive  genius,  but 
under  his  weak  successors  it  fell  apart. 

In  814  Charlemagne's  youngest  son,  Ludwig  the  Pious, 
succeeded  to  the  throne.  He  barely  maintained  his  position 
against  four  rebellious  sons  until  his  death  in  840.  Finally, 
in  843,  the  empire  was  divided  amongst  the  three  remaining 
sons,  Lothar,  Ludwig  the  German  and  Charles  the  Bald  at  the 
treaty  of  Verdun. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  the  French  and  Germans  date 
the  beginning  of  their  separate  existence,  as  nations,  from  this 
treaty,  for,  though  drawn  up  simply  as  a  family  contract,  it  was 
in  reality  destined  to  effect  a  new  grouping  of  nationalities. 


48  THE  RISE    OF   THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Nor  could  an  event  of  such  capital  importance  in  general 
European  affairs  fail  to  exert  a  corresponding  influence  upon 
what  is  to-day  Swiss  territory.  By  this  treaty  Alamannia  and 
Curraetia  went  to  Ludwig  the  German,  while  Burgundy  was 
given  to  Lothar.  The  country  was,  therefore,  once  more 
divided,  after  having  been  united  for  more  than  three  hundred 
years  under  the  sceptre  of  Prankish  Kings.  The  contrast 
which  already  existed  between  the  purely  Teutonic  Alamanni 
and  the  Romanized  Burgundians  was  thus  emphasized  by 
political  separation. 


CHAPTER  V. 

QUEEN    BERTHA    OF    BURGUNDY. 

THERE  is  an  expression  still  currently  used  in  French 
Switzerland,  le  bon  te^tps  que  reine  Berthe  filait,  which 
is  equivalent  to  our  saying  of  "good  old  times."  It  recall* 
one  of  the  most  delightful  chapters  in  the  history  of  that 
region,  when  a  Queen  Bertha,  sat  on  the  throne  of  the  King- 
dom of  Transjurane  Burgundy,  and  endeared  herself  to  her 
subjects  through  the  charitable  disposition  which  she  evinced 
and  the  executive  ability  with  which  she  ruled.  So  vivid  was 
the  impression  she  made  on  her  contemporaries,  that  their 
descendants  have  preserved  the  image  of  the  good  queen  with 
greater  clearness  than  those  of  personages  whose  careers  were 
fraught  with  even  more  important  consequences  to  the  his- 
torical development  of  the  country. 

In  the  earliest  stages  of  the  situation  created  by  the  treaty 
of  Verdun,  the  Kingdom  of  Lothar  presented  a  picture  of  the 
most  complete  demoralization.  Indeed  it  had  hardly  been  con- 
stituted when  it  was  already  hopelessly  divided  into  a  variety 
of  new  states.  Only  one  of  these  falls  within  the  scope  of  the 
present  history  —  the  Kingdom  of  Transjurane,  or  New  Bur- 
gundy, founded  in  888  by  a  Markgrave  Rudolf,  related  to  the 
Guelph  family.  The  coronation  of  the  new  king  took  place 
at  St.  Maurice  in  the  presence  of  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
lords  of  Burgundy.  He  succeeded  in  maintaining  himself 
against  Arnulf  of  Carinthia,  King  of  the  East  Franks,  and 
during  the  reign  of  Ludwig,  the  Child,  established  his  kingdom 
upon  so  firm  a  foundation  that  he  was  able  to  leave  it  intact  to 
his  son,  Rudolf  II. 

49 


50  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

The  latter  sovereign,  then,  considerably  enlarged  Trans  ju- 
rane  Burgundy ;  rather,  indeed,  by  his  good  fortune  than  by  his 
talents.  In  attempting  to  add  to  his  possessions  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Alamannia,  he  came  into  conflict  with  Burkhard  L,  who 
had  just  raised  himself  to  the  position  of  duke  of  that  country, 
and  was  defeated  by  the  latter  in  a  battle  at  Winterthur  (919), 
but  this  feud  was  amicably  settled  two  or  three  years  later 
when  Burkhard  gave  him  the  hand  of  his  daughter  in  marriage. 

This  was  the  famous  and  beloved  Bertha,  the  queen  whom 
popular  tradition  represents  as  going  about  amongst  her  people, 
riding  on  a  palfrey,  and  spinning  the  while  from  her  distaff,  in 
the  good  old  times  of  Burgundy.  She  brought  her  husband  a 
large  dowry  in  lands,  probably  a  portion  of  Alamannia,  so  that 
Rudolf  thus  acquired  by  peaceful  means  what  he  had  failed  to 
do  by  force  of  arms.  Before  he  died  he  had  also  enlarged  his 
kingdom  by  another  stroke  of  good  fortune  to  include  the  two 
Burgundies,  comprising  what  is  now  French  Switzerland  and 
in  France,  Provence,  Dauphine  and  Franche  Comte\  An 
infant  son,  Conrad,  succeeded  Rudolf,  in  935.  He  was  placed 
during  his  minority  under  the  guardianship  of  Otto  the  Great, 
Emperor  of  Germany.  Bertha's  daughter  Adelaide,  famed  for 
her  beauty  and  piety,  had  married  King  Lothar  of  Italy  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  to  whom  she  had  been  betrothed  from  infancy, 
but  three  years  later,  at  the  death  of  Lothar,  she  became  the 
bride  of  Otto,  the  Great,  of  Germany. 

Bertha's  activity  during  the  reign  of  her  husband  and  the 
minority  of  her  son  was  of  such  a  character  as  to  imprint  her 
personality  indelibly  upon  the  period.  The  documents  relating 
to  her  are  few  indeed,  but  tradition  is,  perhaps  for  this  reason, 
all  the  richer  in  reminiscences.  Amongst  the  stories  which 
have  been  handed  down  in  French  Switzerland,  is  the  follow- 
ing :  As  the  queen  was  making  her  rounds  one  day  from  farm 
to  farm,  she  met  a  young  shepherdess  who  was  spinning  as  she 
watched  her  flock.  Pleased  at  this  sign  of  industry,  Bertha 
gave  her  a  rich  present.  On  the  morrow  the  queen  was  sur- 
prised to  see  all  her  ladies  in  waiting  appear  with  distaffs  in 


QUEEN  BERTHA   OF  BURGUNDY.  51 

their  hands.  "My  ladies,"  said  Bertha,  "you  come  too  late. 
The  young  peasant  girl  came  first,  and  like  Jacob,  she  has 
taken  away  my  blessing."  The  Bernese  painter,  Anker,  has 
executed  an  admirable  work  representing  the  queen  in  the  act 
of  teaching  some  children  of  the  people  how  to  use  the  distaff. 
Not  only  is  the  subject  treated  with  excellent  artistic  effect, 
but  the  costumes  are  scrupulously  accurate  for  the  period. 
During  the  terrible  invasions  of  the  Magyars  and  Saracens, 
who  poured  over  the  Alps  in  the  early  part  of  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, devastating  the  country  as  far  north  as  Chur  and  St. 
Gallen,  Bertha  is  reported  to  have  erected  towers  of  refuge, 
having  a  wide  outlook.  Towers  of  this  sort  at  Gourze,  Moudon, 
Moliere  and  Neuchatel,  now  rapidly  falling  into  ruins,  show  by 
their  construction  that  they  were  intended  to  be  simply  shel- 
ters in  time  of  danger,  and  not  regularly  inhabited  strongholds. 
Tradition  also  ascribes  to  her  the  building  of  many  roads  and 
bridges,  and  credits  her  with  taking  a  special  interest  in 
developing  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  country. 

Of  strictly  authentic  facts  regarding  the  good  Queen's  life, 
there  is  unfortunately  a  great  lack.  In  961  she  executed  a 
will,  deeding  valuable  properties  to  the  Abbey  at  Payerne,  "  for 
the  love  of  my  lord  Rudolf,  of  my  sons,  of  Otto,  the  most 
glorious  King,  of  my  daughter  Adelaide,  and  finally  for  my 
own  sake,  and  for  the  souls  of  all  those  who  shall  endow  this 
temple  of  the  Lord."1  An  elaborate  curse  is  appended  to  this 
document,  after  the  custom  of  the  age,  to  be  invoked  upon  all 
who  may  dare  to  set  aside  the  provisions  of  the  deed.  Modern 
Payerne  is  a  thriving  little  town,  not  far  from  Avenches,  and  off 
the  track  of  tourist  travel,  with  a  local  reputation  for  pork 
sausages  rather  than  for  any  special  display  of  sanctity.  Queen 
Bertha  placed  the  monastery  in  charge  of  a  Benedictine  Abbot, 
Majolus.  She  and  her  daughter  Adelaide  ever  after  showed  a 
special  interest  in  this  ecclesiastical  foundation.  In  point  of 
fact  the  Abbey  church,  though  it  has  suffered  with  the  lapse 
of  so  many  centuries,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  valu- 
able architectural  remains  of  Switzerland. 

1  Recueil  des  Historiens  des  Gaules  et  de  la  France. 


52  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

As  far  as  can  be  ascertained  the  royal  family  of  Transjurane 
Burgundy  had  no  fixed  place  of  residence,  but  changed  about 
from  one  castle,  or  one  estate  to  another,  as  public  policy  or  pri- 
vate preference  suggested.  There  is  a  document,  dated  ion, 
in  which  Conrad's  son  Rodolf  III.  deeded  to  his  wife  Irmen- 
garde  a  most  royal  residence  (regalissimam  sedem)  at  Neuchatel. 
It  was  at  one  time  thought  that  this  residence  was  identical 
with  the  south-western  wing  of  the  present  castle  of  Neuchatel, 
a  romanesque  building  of  unusual  beauty,  ornamented  by  a  pil- 
lared gallery,  somewhat  after  the  style  of  an  Italian  loggia. 
The  church  also  of  Notre  Dame,  now  known  as  the  Temple 
du  Haut  and  the  cloisters  of  the  Collegiate  with  their  archaic 
carvings,  were  attributed  to  Bertha.  But  Rahn  and  the  later 
archeologists  are  now  agreed  that  these  buildings  cannot  ante- 
date the  twelfth  century,  and  could  not,  therefore,  have  been 
founded  in  the  time  of  the  good  queen. 

Perhaps  the  most  valuable  pieces  of  evidence  which  have 
come  down  to  us  in  regard  to  Bertha,  are  two  seals  appended 
to  documents  of  the  time.  In  one  she  is  represented  as  sit- 
ting, in  the  other  as  standing,  but  in  both  she  is  clad  in  the 
tunic  and  mantle  of  the  tenth  century,  and  holds  in  one  hand 
a  sceptre,  in  the  other  the  Gospels.  A  crown  rests  upon  her 
head,  while  around  her  image  we  read  the  legend  :  "  Berta  Dei 
Gracia  Humilis  Regina"  Bertha,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  the 
Humble  Queen  —  as  evidence  at  once  of  her  divine  right  to 
rule,  and  also  of  her  humble  disposition. 

The  exact  date  of  Bertha's  death  is  not  known.  It  was 
probably  about  the  year  970. 

In  1817  a  stone  sarcophagus  was  discovered  under  the  tower 
of  the  Abbey  Church,  containing  the  bones  of  a  woman,  and 
under  the  choir  two  skeletons  of  males.  The  authorities  of 
the  Canton  of  Vaud  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  must  be 
the  remains  of  Queen  Bertha,  of  King  Rudolf  II.,  and  their 
son  Conrad.  They  were,  therefore,  removed  to  the  parish 
church,  where  they  now  lie,  covered  with  a  suitable  inscription. 
A  curious  saddle  is  shown  to  travelers  at  Payerne,  purporting 


QUEEN  BERTHA    OF  BURGUNDY.  5a 

to  be  that  of  Bertha ;  it  has  even  a  place  to  hold  the  distaff 
which  always  accompanied  the  good  Queen  on  horseback. 
But  archeologists  have  now  recognized  the  pretended  saddle  to 
be  merely  an  instrument  of  torture  of  much  later  date  than  the 
tenth  century.  After  all,  Bertha's  principal  memorial  is  the 
grateful  memory  in  which  she  has  been  held  by  succeeding 
generations,  and  the  singular  tenacity  with  which  tradition  and 
popular  songs  have  kept  her  image  before  the  people  of  French 
Switzerland  for  nigh  upon  a  thousand  years. 

When  her  son  Conrad  assumed  the  control  of  government, 
the  German  influences  which  had  crept  in  during  his  minority, 
and  had  been  strengthened  by  Adelaide's  marriage  to  Otto  of 
Germany,  made  themselves  daily  more  conspicuous.  The 
Kingdom  of  Burgundy  began  to  decline  as  an  independent 
power.  His  successor  Rudolf  III.,  surnamed  the  Lazy,  lacked 
the  requisite  strength  either  to  resist  the  advance  of  Germany 
or  to  hold  in  check  the  ambitions  of  the  feudal  nobles  in  his 
country.  In  despair  he  turned  to  the  church  for  support,  dis- 
pensing his  estates  with  careless  lavishness  upon  the  prelates 
and  the  ecclesiastical  institutions  of  his  realm,  until  he  became 
so  much  impoverished  that  he  was  glad  to  receive  the  alms  col- 
lected in  the  churches.  In  1016  he  finally  abdicated  in  favor 
of  Henry  II.  of  Germany,  but  the  latter  left  him  in  nominal 
authority  upon  the  request  of  the  Burgundian  nobles.  It  was 
Henry's  successor,  Conrad  II.,  who  in  1032  defeated  Odo, 
Count  of  Champagne,  leader  of  the  Burgundian  nobles,  in  a 
battle  at  Morat,  and  was  then  crowned  King  of  Burgundy  at 
Payerne,  so  that  the  Kingdom  was  at  length  united  to  the  Ger- 
man Empire  after  having  enjoyed  more  than  a  hundred  and 
forty  years  of  more  or  less  precarious  independence. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  in  Burgundy  with  the 
result  of  bringing  that  country  into  subjection  to  the  German 
Empire,  very  different  ones  in  Alamannia  were  leading  to  the 
same  issue. 

The  weak  reign  of  Ludwig  the  Child  had  there  also  been 
the  signal  for  an  independent  movement.  Burkhard,  Margrave 


54  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

of  Curraetia  was  the  first  to  make  a  disastrous  attempt  to 
revive  the  Duchy  of  Alamannia,  but  he  was  executed  before  he 
could  accomplish  his  purpose,  mainly  through  the  opposition  of 
Solomon,  the  crafty  bishop  of  Constance  and  Abbot  of  St. 
Gallen.  This  unfortunate  rebellion  was  followed  by  another, 
equally  tragic,  the  one  of  Erchanger  and  Berchtold,  two  broth- 
ers who  were  probably  descendants  of  the  ancient  ducal  family 
of  Alamannia.  They,  too,  succumbed  to  Solomon,  and  were 
executed.  Nothing  daunted,  the  son  of  Burkhard  boldly  pro- 
claimed his  right  to  the  title  of  Duke,  was  hailed  by  the  people 
as  such,  and  eventually  confirmed  in  his  position  by  the  Ger- 
man emperor  himself.  It  was  this  Burkhard  who  defeated 
Rudolf  II.,  of  Burgundy,  at  Winterthur,  and  later  gave  him  his 
daughter  Bertha  in  marriage,  the  good  queen  whose  acts  we 
have  just  been  rehearsing.  In  this  manner  Bertha,  Alaman- 
nian  by  birth  and  Burgundian  by  connection,  in  a  sense  typi- 
fies the  struggle  for  independence  at  that  time  in  the  whole  of 
what  is  now  Switzerland,  and  her  name  may  well  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  chapter  devoted  to  this  period.  Burkhard  II. 
died  childless,  though  when  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  he 
had  married  a  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Bavaria,  the  Hedwig 
whose  career  was  so  intimately  associated  with  St.  Gallen. 
Hedwig  seems  to  have  retained  the  title  of  Duchess  after 
her  husband's  death,  but  the  authority  conferred  by  the  posi- 
tion passed  into  the  hands  of  a  court  favorite.  Indeed  the 
succession  thereafter  devolved  upon  men  who  were  either 
related  to  the  German  emperors,  or  at  least  subservient  to 
their  dictation.  Alamannia  was  definitely  incorporated  into 
the  great  empire. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    HOUSE    OF    ZAERINGEN. 

WITH  the  extraordinary  development  of  the  feudal  sys- 
tem and  the  growing  impotence  of  the  imperial  author- 
ity, which  followed  the  downfall  of  the  Carolingian  family,  a 
great  number  of  noblemen  rose  to  practical  independence 
upon  what  was  later  to  become  Swiss  soil.  Although  the 
whole  country  remained  under  the  supreme  rule  of  the  German 
kings  and  emperors,  still  their  rule  was  seldom,  if  ever,  felt  by 
those  who  chose  to  disregard  it.  During  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries  four  great  families  in  succession  exerted  a 
predominating  influence,  Zaeringen,  Kiburg,  Savoy  and  Habs- 
burg.  Each  in  turn  held  the  balance  of  power,  each  attempted 
to  establish  an  enduring  dominion  in  Switzerland,  and  all 
failed  utterly  to  accomplish  their  object.  Zaeringen  and  Kiburg 
became  extinct,  while  Savoy  and  Habsburg  were  forced  to 
evacuate  the  ground.  Of  the  two  latter  houses,  the  first  now 
sits  on  the  throne  of  a  united  and  progressive  Italy,-  the  second 
reigns  over  the  dual  monarchy  of  Austria-Hungary,  and  the 
scene  of  their  first  successes  is  the  free  state  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation. 

It  was  during  that  all-embracing  struggle  between  Henry  IV. 
and  Pope  Gregory  VII.  (Hildebrand),  which  broke  over  Europe 
in  1077,  that  the  house  of  Zaeringen  first  gave  unmistakable 
signs  of  its  power.  No  one  could  remain  neutral  in  the  gen- 
eral war  kindled  by  this  quarrel  about  the  right  of  investiture. 
The  strife  penetrated  into  the  remotest  valleys  of  the  Alps, 
where  it  arrayed  the  partisans  of  the  King  and  the  Pope 
against  each  other,  and  caused  them  to  fight  with  as  much 

55 


5b  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

spirit  as  did  the  men  in  the  lowlands,  who  were  nearer  the 
great  seats  of  conflict.  When  the  excitement  had  temporarily 
subsided  at  the  death  of  Rudolf  of  Rheinfelden,  the  papal  anti- 
king,  and  the  masses,  which  had  been  involved,  were  once 
more  able  to  readjust  themselves,  it  was  found  that  the  house 
of  Zaeringen  had  materially  strengthened  its  position  in  Ala- 
mannia  and  Burgundy. 

During  the  minority  of  Henry  IV.,  his  mother  Agnes  had 
granted  the  Duchy  of  Alamannia  to  her  favorite,  Rudolf  of 
Rheinfelden.  But  when  later  this  Rudolf  became  the  leader 
of  the  party  of  the  Pope,  Henry  appointed  Frederic  of  Hohen- 
staufen  in  his  place.  After  the  extinction  of  the  family  of 
Rheinfelden  in  1090,  Berchtold  II.,  Duke  of  Zaeringen,  laid 
claim  to  Alamannia.  A  compromise  was  finally  reached  in 
1097  by  which  the  family  of  Hohenstaufen  retained  the  title 
and  Duchy,  with  the  exception  of  the  town  and  estates  of 
Zurich,  which  fell  to  Zaeringen.  For  the  future,  however, 
the  rule  of  Hohenstaufen  on  the  south  of  the  Rhine  was  purely 
nominal,  the  Dukes  of  Zaeringen  more  and  more  absorbed  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  what  is  now  German  Switzerland.  In 
1127  the  office  of  Governor,  or  Rector,  over  Burgundy  was 
awarded  to  them  by  King  Lothar.  The  Dukes  of  Zaeringen 
thereby  acquired  the  balance  of  power  in  the  territory  extend- 
ing from  the  Rhine  to  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  virtually 
became  the  masters  of  what  is  to-day  the  Swiss  Confederation. 
The  efforts  which  they  made  to  maintain  themselves,  with  all 
the  results  this  entailed,  constitute  the  history  of  Switzerland 
for  the  century  during  which  they  flourished. 

From  modest  beginnings,  as  simple  freemen  living  at  Villin- 
gen  near  Freiburg  in  Baden,  the  family  had  succeeded  in  add- 
ing one  estate  to  another,  until  two  brilliant  marriages  had 
brought  them  into  the  forefront  of  the  nobility.  The  ancestral 
castle  of  Zaeringen,  now  in  ruins,  may  still  be  seen  at  the 
village  of  that  name  not  far  from  Freiburg.  Once  in  posses- 
sion of  the  balance  of  power  in  Southern  Alamannia  and 
Burgundy  the  Dukes  found  themselves  confronted  by  the 


THE  HOUSE   OF  ZAERINGEN.  57 

difficult  problem  of  preserving  their  position  from  the  attacks 
of  jealous  rivals.  They  inaugurated  a  system  of  defence  which 
was  destined  to  exert  a  far-reaching  influence  upon  the  future 
of  the  country.  Selecting  a  number  of  villages  situated  in 
positions  of  strategic  importance,  they  fortified  them  with 
walls  and  converted  them  into  cities  with  chartered  privileges. 
An  ancestor,  Berchtold  II.,  had  founded  Freiburg  in  Baden, 
after  the  model  of  Cologne,  and  his  descendant  Berchtold  IV., 
now  in  1176,  or  1178,  enlarged  a  small  settlement  on  the  banks 
of  the  Sarine  into  the  city  of  Fribourg.  Either  he  or  his  son, 
Berchtold  V.,  also  fortified  such  towns  as  Burgdorf,  Morat  and 
Thun.  The  culmination  of  this  process  of  building  cities  was 
reached  in  the  founding  of  Bern  by  Berchtold  V.  in  1191. 
He  was  induced  to  take  this  step  in  order  to  complete  his  line 
of  defence  Fribourg-Burgdorf,  by  placing  a  garrisoned  strong- 
hold about  midway  between  the  two.  He  had  just  put  down  a 
rising  of  Burgundian  nobles  near  Avenches  or  Payerne,  and 
had  gained  a  decisive  victory  in  the  valley  of  Grindelwald, 
when  he  erected  his  new  fortress  upon  a  high  sandstone  penin- 
sula formed  by  the  winding  river  Aar. 

The  derivation  of  the  name  of  Bern  has  given  rise  to  con- 
siderable speculation.  The  Bernese  chronicler,  Justinger, 
writing  in  1420,  gives  the  following  explanation,  so  characteris- 
tic of  his  age :  "  And  since  much  game  ran  in  that  oak  forest 
[on  the  site  of  the  future  city],  Berchtold  told  his  councillors 
that  he  would  name  the  city  after  the  first  beast  caught  in  the 
forest.  Now  the  first  to  be  caught  was  a  bear,  therefore  the 
city  was  called  Bern."1  It  is  certainly  curious,  if  nothing  more, 
that  this  animal  is  represented  on  the  city  coat-of-arms  as  soon 
after  the  year  of  founding  as  1224.  Dierauer,  in  his  "Ges- 
chichte  der  Schweizerischen  Eidgenossenschaft,"  mentions  a 
family  "de  Berno"  from  Rottweil  in  modern  Wiirttemberg, 
who  were  supposed  to  have  been  in  the  service  of  the  Duke  of 
Zaeringen.2  But  the  most  reasonable  explanation  of  the  name, 

iDandliker,  Geschichte  der  Schweiz.     Vol.  I,  p.  633. 
2Vol.  I,  p.  61. 


58  THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

and  one  which  is  now  generally  accepted,  is  that  Bern  is  sim- 
ply the  German  form  of  the  Italian  Verona.  The  Margraviate 
of  Verona  was  at  one  time  in  the  possession  of  the  family  of 
Zaeringen,  and  the  founder  may  have  had  this  fact  in  mind 
when  he  named  his  new  city.  An  example  of  exactly  the 
same  change  from  Verona  to  Bern  is  furnished  by  the  name  of 
Theodoric  the  Great,  King  of  the  Ostrogoths,  who,  because  he 
sometimes  resided  at  Verona,  is  known  in  the  German  hero 
romances  as  Dietrich  von  Bern. 

In  1218  Berchtold  V.  died  childless,  presumably  at  his  ances- 
tral castle  of  Zaeringen,  leaving  his  possessions  to  be  divided 
amongst  a  crowd  of  eager  relatives. 

The  Swiss  people  have  reason  to  remember  the  house  of 
Zaeringen  with  gratitude  for  having  laid  the  foundations  of  so 
many  of  their  important  cities.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that 
the  extinction  of  the  house  of  Zaeringen  came  most  oppor- 
tunely, for  it  is  entirely  within  the  range  of  possibility,  that, 
otherwise,  the  state  they  had  erected,  might  have  become  a 
principality,  or  even  a  monarchy,  as  enduring  as  any  of  those 
which  surround  Switzerland  to-day. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   HOUSE    OF   SAVOY. 

THE  mantle  of  Zaeringen  seemed  for  a  time  to  have  fallen 
upon  the  Counts  of  Kiburg,  a  family  of  somewhat  uncer- 
tain origin  which  had  risen  to  great  power  in  and  about  the 
Thurgau.  One  of  their  castles  may  still  be  seen  near  Winter- 
thur,  the  old  Kiburg,  as  it  is  called,  now  a  pleasant,  restored 
chateau,  and  another  is  the  splendid  castle  which  towers  over 
the  little  town  of  Thun.  They  inherited  all  the  possessions 
of  Berchtold  V.  of  Zaeringen,  except  those  which  he  had  held 
in  fief  from  the  empire.  Under  a  certain  Count  Hartmann, 
the  Elder,  and  his  nephew  Hartmann,  the  Younger,  Kiburg 
reached  the  apex  of  its  prosperity ;  but  these  two  men  both 
died  without  issue  in  1 263  -  64,  and  left  Savoy  and  Habs- 
burg  to  quarrel  over  their  vast  estates. 

At  this  time  Count  Peter  of  Savoy,  surnamed  Charlemagne 
the  Little,  had  conquered  for  himself  the  undisputed  control  of 
what  is  to-day  French  Switzerland.  He  was  nearing  the  close 
of  a  career  marked  by  extraordinary  success,  and  his  personal- 
ity deserves  in  a  measure  to  stand  as  one  typical  of  the  chiv- 
alry of  his  time. 

Peter's  father,  Thomas  of  Savoy,  had  sprung  from  the 
obscure  family  of  Maurienne,  but  had  taken  the  first  steps 
toward  obtaining  a  foothold  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Lake 
of  Geneva.  Peter  continued  these  efforts  by  contracting  an 
advantageous  marriage  with  the  heiress  of  Faucigny,  then  by 
erecting  strongholds  at  points  of  strategic  importance,  and 
finally  by  embarking  in  open  warfare  against  the  multitude  of 
more  or  less  independent  lordlings,  who  ruled  over  the  country. 

59 


60  THE  RISE    OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

His  niece,  Eleonora,  became  the  wife  of  Henry  III.,  King  of 
England,  so  that  he  also  became  intimately  associated  with  that 
country.  It  is  related  that  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to 
London,  he  was  received  amid  festivities  at  Westminster 
Abbey,  and  created  Duke  of  Richmond  with  the  revenues  of 
many  castles  and  manors.  His  brother  Boniface  was  actually 
appointed  archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  primate  of  all  Eng- 
land. Peter  became  a  sort  of  general  personal  advisor  to  the 
King  during  his  visit  of  about  a  year  and  a  half. 

On  his  return  to  Savoy,  he  began  to  subjugate  the  Valais, 
and  then  turned  his  attention  more  particularly  to  the  land  of 
Vaud ;  in  fact,  it  is  in  connection  with  the  conquest  of  this  lat- 
ter region  that  his  name  is  especially  known  in  history.  In  the 
course  of  some  twenty  years  Peter  gradually  absorbed  one 
feudal  estate  after  the  other,  until  he  was  master  of  the  lands 
lying  in  the  Lower  Rhone  valley,  and  in  Vaud  almost  as  far 
north  as  the  river  Aar.  The  intervals  of  active  conquest  were 
spent  at  the  Court  of  England.  Picturesque  details  of  his 
career  are  furnished  by  that  highly  imaginative,  but  not  always 
reliable,  work  the  "Chronicle  of  Savoy."  His  address  was 
so  persuasive  that  he  was  often  asked  to  act  as  mediator 
between  England  and  France,  and  doubtless  his  services  were 
well  rewarded,  for  we  find  him  building  a  palace  on  ground 
given  him  by  Henry  III.  It  stood  on  the  Strand  near  the  mod- 
ern Waterloo  Bridge.  Indeed,  wherever  the  name  Savoy 
occurs  in  London,  it  is  in  memory  of  this  Count  Peter,  Queen 
Eleonora's  uncle. 

After  Henry's  defeat  at  Lewes,  Peter  made  a  great  effort  to 
come  to  the  aid  of  his  kinsman.  He  equipped  a  fleet  in 
Flanders,  and  raised  an  army  in  the  Alps ;  but  the  fleet  was 
scattered  by  adverse  winds,  like  many  another  which  has  been 
sent  against  England,  and  his  army  was  needed  elsewhere,  for 
Peter  suddenly  received  alarming  news  from  the  land  of  Vaud. 
During  his  absence  Count  Rudolf  of  Habsburg,  in  his  charac- 
ter of  heir  to  the  extinct  house  of  Kiburg,  had  advanced  into 
the  country  in  order  to  receive  the  homage  of  his  subjects,  and, 


THE  HOUSE   OF  SAVOY.  61 

if  possible,  to  add  to  his  possessions.  There  was  a  battle  at 
Chillon,  one  of  Savoy's  principal  strongholds,  which  resulted 
in  favor  of  Peter.  It  appears  that  Rudolf's  forces  lay 
encamped  before  Chillon  under  the  leadership  of  a  Duke  of 
Cophingen.  Peter,  coming  down  the  Valais,  left  his  army  at 
Villeneuve,  penetrated  with  two  others  by  might  into  the 
castle,  mounted  the  tower,  saw  the  enemy  lying  about  in  dis- 
order, and  returned  by  boat  to  Villeneuve.  Says  the  chronicle 
of  Savoy :  "He  went  back  in  good  spirits.  When  they  saw 
him  so  gay  —  'What  news?'  they  asked.  'Good  news,'  he 
answered,  'for  if  God  be  with  us  and  you  behave  like  men, 
the  enemy  is  ours.'  At  which  they  all  cried  with  one  accord 
'Sir,  you  have  but  to  command.'  They  armed  themselves, 
then  fully  equipped  and  in  good  order,  mounted  their  steeds, 
rounded  the  pass  of  Chillon  without  blowing  of  trumpets,  and 
fell  upon  the  tents  and  quarters  of  the  Duke  of  Cophingen. 
They  had  good  luck,  for  they  found  him  and  his  men  unarmed, 
half  awake  and  half  asleep."  There  followed  a  treaty  which 
served  to  determine  the  respective  spheres  of  action  of  these 
two  ambitious  noblemen.  A  few  months  later  in  1268  Count 
Peter  died  on  his  way  home  from  a  trip  to  Italy. 

His  brother  Philip  succeeded  to  the  title,  a  man  who  did  not 
possess  the  requisite  enterprise  to  carry  on  the  schemes  of  the 
indefatigable  conqueror  of  the  land  of  Vaud.  The  house  of 
Savoy  lost  prestige  and  power  throughout  the  territory  which 
is  now  French  Switzerland.  The  property  in  England  was 
left  to  Queen  Eleonora,  except  the  palace  in  London,  which, 
strangely  enough,  went  as  an  endowment  for  the  hospice  on 
the  Great  St.  Bernard,  already  at  that  date  doing  its  benefi- 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    HOUSE    OF    HABSBURG. 

NOT  far  from  Brugg  in  the  present  Canton  of  Aargau, 
upon  a  hill  which  goes  by  the  name  of  the  Wiilpelsberg, 
stands  a  massive  tower  with  an  adjoining  dwelling.  This  par- 
tial ruin  is  the  ancestral  castle  of  the  house  of  Habsburg,  now 
rented  to  a  farmer  by  the  Cantonal  authorities.  Near  by,  on 
the  tongue  of  land  made  by  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Aar 
and  Reuss,  archeologists  have  discovered  traces  of  an  older 
seat,  the  Altenburg,  but  in  the  eleventh  century  the  family 
appear  to  have  moved  to  the  castle  on  the  hill.  A  pretty 
legend  was  devised  in  after  years  to  explain  the  name  of  Habs- 
burg. It  relates  that  a  certain  ancestor,  while  hunting  in 
these  parts,  lost  his  hawk  (Habicht\  and  at  last  found  it  on 
the  Wiilpelsberg.  He  was  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  view, 
built  a  castle,  and  called  it  Habicktsburg  or  Habsburg. 

The  most  valuable  documentary  information  is  derived  from 
the  archives  of  the  Abbey  of  Muri,  which  was  founded  by  the 
family  in  1027.  Besides  extensive  possessions  in  the  Aargau 
itself,  Habsburg  seems  to  have  early  acquired  additional  ones 
in  Elsass  and  the  Breisgau.  The  first  direct  ancestor  of  the 
great  Rudolf,  of  whom  we  have  definite  knowledge,  was  a 
Count  Wernher  II.  living  in  the  year  1135.  He  was  followed 
by  a  Count  Adelbert,  who  placed  the  family  in  the  forefront 
of  the  younger  nobility  by  a  fortunate  marriage,  and  also  inher- 
ited a  share  of  the  possessions  which  the  house  of  Lenzburg 
had  left  upon  becoming  extinct.  The  significance  of  this  last 
acquisition  becomes  evident  when  we  find  that  the  estates  in 
question  were  situated  mainly  in  the  present  Cantons  of 


THE  HOUSE  OF  HABSBURG.  63 

Luzern,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden,  where  the  revolt  originated 
which  was  destined  to  pave  the  way  for  the  founding  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation.  Before  Adelbert  died  he  was  also  cre- 
ated Count  of  the  Ziirichgau  by  Frederic  Barbarossa.  His  suc- 
cessor was  Rudolf,  surnamed  the  Old,  who  dying  in  1232,  left 
two  sons  to  divide  the  inheritance  between  them,  Albrecht,  the 
Wise,  and  Rudolf,  surnamed  the  Taciturn.  These  sons  gave 
rise  to  two  lines ;  Albrecht  to  that  known  later  as  Habsburg- 
Austria,  and  Rudolf  to  Habsburg-Laufenburg.  Elsass  alone, 
with  perhaps  the  Zurichgau,  were  administered  conjointly  by 
the  two.  When  Albrecht  died  in  the  Crusades,  in  1239  or 
1240,  his  share  came  by  degrees  into  the  hands  of  his  eldest 
son,  Count  Rudolf  III.,  better  known  in  history  as  Rudolf  I., 
king  and  emperor  of  Germany. 

Rudolf  made  his  first  impression  on  public  affairs  during  the 
renewal  of  hostilities  between  the  empire  and  the  papal  chair, 
which  burst  forth  in  1239  under  Frederic  II.  He  followed 
the  traditions  of  his  father  in  remaining  a  loyal  adherent  of 
the  Hohenstauffen  family.  It  was  only  when  Frederic  had 
died  that  Rudolf  reconciled  himself  to  the  church. 

But,  in  the  meantime,  the  emperor's  death  was  succeeded 
by  an  interregnum  of  twenty-three  years,  from  1250-1273,  the 
famous  epoch  of  demoralization,  commonly  known  as  that  of 
Faustrecht,  or  Club  law,  which  saw  the  robber-knights  flourish 
as  never  before.  Every  man's  hand  was  against  his  neighbor. 
Every  noble,  from  the  prince  to  the  lordling,  was  striving  to 
widen  his  influence  by  any  means  at  his  disposal.  It  was  also 
the  time  for  the  weak  to  unite  in  leagues  and  build  walls, 
in  order  to  defend  themselves  against  arbitrary  aggression. 
Hence  this  period  of  confusion,  which  was  so  favorable  to  the 
power  of  ambitious  noblemen,  was  equally  conducive  to  the 
formation  of  peasant  and  burgher  leagues.  For,  with  all  its 
outward  splendor  the  age  of  knighthood  was  but  a  sorry  one 
for  the  great  mass  of  population  in  Europe.  We,  who  are 
more  familiar  in  literature  with  the  brighter  aspects  of  Chiv- 
alry, can  with  difficulty  form  a  just  conception  of  the  actual 


64  THE  RISE  OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

condition  of  the  serfs  or  even  the  so-called  freemen.  Life  cer- 
tainly was  not  a  mere  succession  of  public  shows  and  manly 
encounters,  tinged  throughout  with  a  beautiful,  though  impos- 
sible, devotion  to  the  ideals  of  knighthood  and  love.  The  sor- 
did cares,  the  innumerable  injustices,  which,  taken  separately, 
seem  trivial,  but  in  the  aggregate  are  mountain  high ;  the  base 
wrongs,  daily  perpetrated  in  the  #ame  of  custom,  and  the 
unholy  denial  of  man's  most  ordinary  rights  —  these  details  of 
every-day  life  in  the  Age  of  Chivalry  are  not  recorded,  or  have 
been  subordinated  to  the  picturesque  and  the  romantic.  It 
would  be  more  accurate  to  say  that  vast  multitudes  were  lying 
in  a  wretchedness  akin  to  despair ;  that  the  feudal  state  no 
longer  had  any  respect  for  the  old-fashioned  word  freeman, 
but  knew  only  princes  and  slaves. 

Thrown  upon  their  own  resources  during  the  perils  of  the 
interregnum,  the  people  founded  a  number  of  leagues  through- 
out the  empire.  They  were  not  apparently  actuated  by  the 
dream  of  creating  free  states,  but  by  the  instinct  of  self-preser- 
vation, and  in  the  retrospect  this  season  of  unrest,  terrible  as 
it  was  in  many  respects,  is  seen  to  have  given  them  a  veritable 
schooling  in  the  art  of  self-government.  It  was  during  this 
period,  for  instance,  that  the  secluded  peasant  communities  of 
Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden,  deprived  of  the  support  from 
the  imperial  crown,  to  which  they  were  entitled,  learnt  the 
lesson  of  organization,  of  mutual  help,  and  in  a  word  of  union. 
They  were  receiving  an  inestimable  political  education  from 
the  very  perils  which  surrounded  them,  as  we  shall  see  in 
detail  later  on. 

Nor  was  Rudolf  of  Habsburg  slow  in  taking  advantage  of  the 
unsettled  state  of  affairs  to  enrich  himself  at  the  expense  of 
his  neighbors.  He  had  inherited  almost  the  whole  of  the  vast 
possessions  left  by  the  extinct  house  of  Kiburg,  which  added 
to  his  own  estates,  gave  him  practical  control  of  what  is  now 
German  Switzerland.  He  took  special  pains  to  be  on  good 
terms  with  the  rising  free  cities,  like  Zurich,  in  order  to  make 
sure  of  their  help  in  time  of  trouble.  At  the  same  time  he 


THE  HOUSE   OF  HABSBURG.  65 

was  indefatigable  in  enterprises  destined  to  enlarge  his  private 
possessions.  He  was,  in  fact,  engaged  in  besieging  the  city  of 
Basel,  having  become  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  the  bishop  of 
that  place,  when  suddenly  the  extraordinary  news  was  commu- 
nicated to  him  that  he  had  been  elected  King  of  Germany 
by  an  assembly  convened  at  Frankfurt.  Hastily  concluding 
peace  with  Basel,  he  hastened  to  assume  the  duties  of  his  high 
office. 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  province  of  this  history  to 
treat  of  the  new  king's  actions  as  they  affected  Germany  at 
large,  but  he  displayed  a  certain  general  tendency  during  his 
reign  which  deserves  to  be  especially  noticed  on  account  of 
the  results  which  it  entailed  upon  the  history  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation. 

Rudolf  of  Habsburg  surveyed  the  scene  of  his  future  activ- 
ity with  singular  clearsightedness,  took  account  of  what  he 
could  do  to  unite  the  distracted  empire,  and,  what  is  more, 
comprehended  the  limitations  which  had  been  set  to  his  power. 
He  knew  well  that  the  new  kingdom,  created  by  his  election, 
was  not  the  empire  of  Charlemagne ;  that  he  was  king,  not  by 
the  Grace  of  God,  but  by  the  good  will  of  the  electing  princes ; 
and  that  the  time  might  come  when  he,  or  his  descendants, 
would  be  obliged  to  yield  the  throne  to  another  family.  He 
did  not,  therefore,  stop  the  efforts  which  he  was  making  to 
build  up  a  private  fortune  and  to  establish  a  great  principality, 
but  in  his  new  position  rather  redoubled  his  exertions. 

All  the  conditions  seemed  favorable  for  the  creation  of  a 
great  Habsburg  power  in  the  Swiss  Alps.  How  came  it  that 
Rudolf  and  his  descendants,  having  once  acquired  so  firm  a 
foothold,  and  having,  moreover,  obtained  the  vantage  ground  of 
the  German  throne  itself,  were  worsted  by  the  rude  peasants 
of  the  mountains  ? 

The  answer  to  this  question  brings  us  to  the  threshold  of 
the  real  history  of  Switzerland. 

That  which  has  gone  before  —  the  Helvetian  era,  the 
Roman  occupation,  the  Alamannian  and  Burgundian  settle- 


66  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

ments,  the  supremacy  of  the  Franks,  the  incorporation  of  the 
whole  into  the  German  Empire,  and  the  rise  of  independent 
nobles  —  all  this  is  but  the  prologue  to  the  great  drama  which 
now  unfolds  itself. 


BOOK  II. 

THE  CONFEDERATION  OF  EIGHT  STATES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    SWISS    CONFEDERATION. 

THERE  is  no  period  in  all  history  so  generally  misunder- 
stood as  that  which  marks  the  origin  of  the  Swiss  Con- 
federation ;  partly  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  authentic,  con- 
temporary documents,  but  principally  on  account  of  the  false 
versions  which  unscrupulous  chroniclers  have  handed  down  to 
us.  In  fact,  so  great  is  this  want  of  records,  and  so  confusing 
are  the  traditions,  that  the  dawn  of  Swiss  history  is  probably 
doomed  to  remain  shrouded  in  a  certain  amount  of  obscurity. 

The  comprehensive  view  which  is  obtained  from  the  various 
peaks  of  the  Rigi  affords  the  best  possible  introduction  to  the 
study  of  this  difficult  period.  Almost  every  spot  celebrated 
in  the  annals  of  the  early  Confederation,  or  hallowed  by  its 
traditions,  is  visible  from  that  height ;  and  when  not  actually 
visible,  can  be  readily  located  with  the  help  of  a  map. 

There,  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of  Luzern,  the  national  life 
of  the  Swiss  people  had  its  origin.  They  have  reason  to  feel 
proud  of  such  a  birthplace,  for  this  sheet  of  water,  blue  and 
green  by  turns,  like  all  the  Swiss  lakes,  lies  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  great  Alps,  imbedded  like  a  fair  jewel  in  the  setting 
of  the  lesser  heights.  Three  principal  valleys  empty  their  tor- 
rents into  its  winding  arms,  and  velvet  slopes  stretch  from  the 
water  up  the  mountain-sides,  to  where  the  firs  stand  sentinel 
over  summer  pastures.  In  the  background  the  distant  snow 
lends  the  whole  a  tone  of  magnificent  tranquility. 

Amid  such  surroundings  the  commonwealths  of  Uri,  Schwiz 
and  Unterwalden  grew  from  infancy  to  maturity  by  the  slow 
process  which  characterized  the  rise  of  all  free  communities  in 


70  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  Middle  Ages.  They  had  not  existed  from  time  immemo- 
rial, nor  had  they  suddenly  sprung  into  existence.  They  fol- 
lowed the  general  law  of  nature,  which  is  growth.  Nor  did 
they  at  first  occupy  exceptional  positions  within  the  German 
empire,  for  the  same  conditions  are  found  to  have  existed 
elsewhere.  In  a  word,  they  acquired  the  first  degree  of  lib- 
erty, the  privilege  of  immediate  dependence  upon  the  empire 
(Reichsunmittelbarkeif),  by  the  same  steps  as  some  of  their 
neighbors,  and  their  final,  collective  independence  was  not 
very  different  from  that  of  the  leagues  of  the  Hanseatic,  Lom- 
bard, Rhine,  and  Swabian  cities,  except  that  it  was  more 
enduring. 

In  time  Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden  assumed  many  of  the 
features  of  ideal  democracies.  Supremely  simple,  pastoral  and 
secluded  in  their  Alpine  fastnesses,  they  seem  in  the  retrospect 
to  have  been  veritable  idylls,  more  perfect  than  poet  or  philos- 
opher ever  imagined.  And,  if  a  closer  acquaintance  with  the 
history  serves  to  dispel  many  illusions,  enough  remains  to 
attract  our  attention  and  arouse  our  enthusiasm. 

It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  such  states  are  possible 
under  present  industrial  conditions  in  populous  districts.  In 
certain  highlying  and  sequestered  regions  of  Switzerland,  espe- 
cially near  the  Lake  of  Luzern  the  conditions  have  for  ages 
been  particularly  favorable.  There  the  existence  of  man  is 
one  of  ceaseless  toil,  his  wants  are  few  and  his  pleasures 
simple.  The  continual  conflict  which  he  is  forced  to  wage 
against  the  elements,  makes  him  hardy  in  mind  and  body,  and 
teaches  him  to  rely  upon  himself,  as  well  as  to  value  the  co-op- 
eration of  his  neighbor.  The  uniformity  of  his  life  develops 
his  sense  of  equality,  and  strengthens  his  conservatism.  In 
regions  thus  remote  from  the  great  centres,  where  the  din  of 
a  restless  world  arrives  far-spent,  and  loses  itself  amid  the 
hush  that  rests  upon  the  mountains,  where  life  runs  on  plac- 
idly and  unchanged,  there  only  can  we  conceive  of  a  state 
enduring  from  century  to  century  in  such  archaic  simplicity. 

Uri,  Schwiz   and   Unterwalden,  known    collectively  as   the 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.     71 

three  Forest  States,  on  account  of  the  primeval  forests  which 
originally  covered  them,  appear  for  the  first  time  in  history 
during  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries.  There  are  no  traces 
of  lake  dwellings  within  their  territory,  the  nearest  being  at 
Zug.  On  the  Roman  charts  there  is  nothing  but  a  blank  for 
the  whole  region.  When  the  Alamanni  came,  the  land  passed 
into  their  hands  and  formed  part  of  the  Duchy  of  Alamannia. 
Under  the  supremacy  of  the  Franks,  and  after  the  fall  of  the 
ducal  house,  it  belonged  first  to  the  Thurgau,  and  when  that 
county  was  divided,  to  the  Ziirichgau  to  be  administered  by 
the  count  of  the  district. 

There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  original  colonists  were 
Alamanni,  in  spite  of  the  reasons  given  by  Muralt1  in  his  docu- 
mentary history  for  believing  that  they  were  Swedes  and  Frie- 
sians.  The  false  account  of  a  Swedish  immigration  into  those 
parts,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  chronicles  of  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  seems  to  repose  upon  a  misconcep- 
tion. A  wrong  interpretation  was  laid  upon  the  resemblance 
between  the  Latin  forms  of  the  names  given  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Schwiz  and  of  Sweden  —  Schwidones  and  Schwedones  — 
and  much  was  made  of  the  conviction  amongst  the  people 
themselves  that  their  ancestors  had  come  from  the  North. 
The  similarity  between  the  names  is  simply  a  coincidence, 
while  the  tradition  of  a  Northern  descent  is  explained  as  a  long 
cherished  remembrance  of  the  Alamannian  invasion  of  Helvetia. 
While  we  are  not  warranted  in  fixing  with  any  precision  the 
date  when  the  first  colonization  took  place,  it  seems  beyond 
question  that  the  Forest  States,  although  they  are  the  oldest 
members  of  the  Confederation,  were  the  last  to  become  popu- 
lated. As  the  plains  became  more  and  more  thickly  settled, 
pioneers,  adventurous  spirits,  moved  up  into  the  then  savage 
country  that  skirts  the  lake,  pushed  into  the  forests,  and  made 
clearings.  This  colonization  was  accomplished  in  three  differ- 
ent ways  :  by  freemen  who  occupied  and  tilled  their  own  land, 
by  bondmen  sent  out  from  ecclesiastical  institutions,  or  by 

1  Muralt,  E.     Schweizergeschichte.     p.  122. 


72  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

bondmen  in  the  employment  of  secular  nobles.  The  two  lat- 
ter classes  paid  rent  to  their  ecclesiastical  or  lay  landlords,  the 
former  paid  taxes  to  the  Count  only.  In  Uri,  moreover,  the 
sovereign  himself  had  estates,  known  as  crown  lands,  which 
played  a  most  important  part  in  the  history  of  that  district. 
Thus  it  happened  that  the  very  manner  of  colonization  pro- 
duced a  diversity  of  conditions  amongst  the  inhabitants. 
Schwiz  was  settled  principally  by  freemen,  while  the  majority 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Uri  and  Unterwalden  were  in  the  condi- 
tion of  servitude  either  to  spiritual  or  temporal  lords. 

As  the  origin  of  the  three  Forest  States  was  different,  so 
also  was  their  growth  into  sovereign  democracies,  each  acquir- 
ing the  ReicJisunmittelbarkeit  separately,  and  at  different  times. 

It  will,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  examine  them  individually, 
to  trace  their  respective  histories  apart  from  one  another,  in 
order  more  fully  to  comprehend  the  scope  and  purport  of  the 
perpetual  league  in  which  they  united  toward  the  close  of  the 
thirteenth  century. 


CHAPTER  II. 


URI. 


THE  derivation  of  the  name  of  this  state  is  still   to   be 
determined.     The  most  common  explanation  is  that  it  is 
from  the  root  ur,  signifying  the  Auerochs,  or  wild  bull,  an  ani- 
mal now  long  extinct.     Certain  it  is  that  the  head  of  a  bull 
has  figured  on  the  Cantonal  seal  since  the  year  1243. 

The  name  Uri  occurs  for  the  first  time  in  the  Latin  chron- 
icle of  a  certain  Hermann,  a  monk  of  the  Abbey  of  Reichenau, 
dated  732.  He  says:  "Eto,  our  abbot,  was  banished  to  Uri 
[in  Uraniam]  by  Theobald  [a  Duke  of  Alamannia]."1  In  853 
Ludwig,  the  German,  founded  the  Abbey  of^  Nuns  (Fraumun- 
ster)  in  Ziirich  by  enlarging  an  already  existing  convent  dedi- 
cated to  the  martyrs  Felix  and  Regula.  He  placed  his  daugh- 
ter Hildigard  over  it  as  abbess,  and  in  the  deed  of  founding  he 
transferred  to  the  Abbey,  amongst  other  property,  the  crown- 
lands  which  he  possessed  in  Uri.  That  part  of  the  deed 
which  refers  to  Uri,  reads  as  follows  in  the  translation  from  the 
Latin :  "  Be  it  known  that  we  give  completely  and  unreserv- 
edly, .  .  .  the  little  land  of  Uri  (pagellum  uroniae)  with  its 
churches,  houses  and  such  other  buildings  as  are  upon  it,  the 
serfs  of  both  sexes  and  of  every  age,  the  lands  cultivated  and 
uncultivated,  the  forests,  fields  and  pastures,  the  still  and  run- 
ning waters,  the  roads,  exits  and  entrances,  whatever  has  been 
acquired  or  is  yet  to  be  acquired,  with  all  the  tithes  and  the  vari- 
ous imposts  ...  to  our  convent,  situated  in  the  .  .  . 
place  (vied)  Zurich,  where  the  saints  Felix  and  Regula,  the 
Martyrs  of  Christ,  rest  in  the  body  .  .  .  ."2  The  last 
provision  of  this  deed  grants  the  privilege  of  immunity  to  the 

1  Rilliet,  A.     Les  Origines  de  la  Confederation  Suisse.     p.  339. 
~  Oechsli,  W.   Quellenbuch  zur  Schweizergeschichte.     p.  20. 

73 


74  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Abbey  and  its  belongings  in  the  following  words :  "  Finally  we 
command  and  decree  that  no  public  judge  (judex  publicus)  or 
Count  (comes)  or  any  one  with  judicial  powers  (quislibet  exjudi- 
ciaria  potestate)  presume  in  the  aforesaid  places,  and  in  the 
affairs  which  appertain  to  them,  to  exercise  jurisdiction  (dis- 
tringere  aut  infestare)  over  the  men  who  dwell  there,  both  free 
and  bond,  either  by  demanding  pledges  (fideiussores  tollendo), 
or  by  exacting  payments  (redibitiones) ,  whether  in  services  or 
fines  (freda  aut  bannos),  or  to  use  unjustified  violence  on  any 
man,  at  any  time.  But  that  these  things  remain  in  perpetuity 
under  our  protection  and  guardianship  with  the  bailiffs  who 
are  there  established  .  .  .  ." 

The  lands,  thus  conveyed,  did  not  comprise  the  whole  of  the 
modern  Canton  of  Uri,  but  only  those  lying  near  Altdorf. 
The  valley  of  Urseren  still  belonged  to  the  Abbey  of  Dissentis, 
and  large  estates  belonged  to  the  Abbey  of  Wettingen,  or  to 
members  of  the  lesser  nobility,  such  as  the  Knights  of  Atting- 
hausen,  the  ruins  of  whose  castle  may  still  be  seen  at  the  vil- 
lage of  that  name.  There  were  besides  small  communities 
of  freemen  living  in  the  Schachenthal,  that  charming  valley 
which  opens  up  behind  the  village  of  Altdorf. 

This  act,  therefore,  conferred  the  immunity  only  on  a  part 
of  Uri,  and  this  part  was  now  withdrawn  from  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  officials  of  the  Ziirichgau  to  be  placed  under  the  impe- 
rial bailiff  (Kastvogt)  of  the  Abbey  of  Nuns  in  Zurich.  The 
duty  of  this  bailiff  was  in  general  to  represent  the  sovereign. 
He  regulated  the  relations  of  the  nunnery  to  the  surrounding 
nobles  and  convents,  and  held  court  twice  a  year  under  the 
lime-tree  of  Altdorf,  in  order  to  adjust  cases  of  importance  in 
the  presence  of  the  subjects  of  the  Abbey.  There  were 
besides  special  officials  of  the  Abbey,  Mayors  (Meier}  who,  as 
its  possessions  grew,  had  their  seats  at  Altdorf,  Burglen,  Sile- 
nen,  and  Erstfeld,  where  their  ruined  towers  can  still  be  seen. 
It  was  their  duty  to  collect  the  tithes  and  to  try  minor 
offences,  according  to  the  traditional  usage  of  every  locality. 

It  is   evident,    therefore,    that   the   diversity   of   conditions 


URL  75 

amongst  the  inhabitants  of  Uri  was  very  great,  but  in  one 
matter  they  were  all'  equal ;  every  man,  from  the  Lake  of 
Luzern  to  Goschenen,  whether  bond  or  free,  was  a  member  of 
the  Markgenossenschaft,  according  to  the  ancient  Alamannian 
custom.  In  this  association  they  were  united.  The  concen- 
tration into  one  undivided  commonwealth  was  destined  to  take 
place  under  the  shadow  of  the  Abbey  which  enjoyed  the 
imperial  immunity.  The  fate  of  its  subjects,  known  as  Regler 
from  their  patron,  Saint  Regula,  was  so  much  envied  by  the 
subjects  of  other  landowners,  and  even  by  the  freemen,  who 
were  under  the  regular  county  officials,  that  they  spared  no 
effort  to  become  themselves  subjects  of  the  nunnery,  and  thus 
partakers  in  the  privileges  of  the  immunity.  In  this  manner 
the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  gathered  under  the  protection 
of  the  imperial  bailiff.  Finally,  the  last  step  in  this  process  of 
unification  was  taken,  when  the  whole  valley  was  placed  under 
this  official,  probably  to  obviate  the  inconvenience  of  having  a 
part  under  the  count  and  another  under  the  bailiff.  The  lat- 
ter office  had  just  been  transferred  from  the  family  of  Lenz- 
burg  to  that  of  Zaeringen  1 1 72,  when  this  change  took  place. 

It  speaks  strongly  for  the  fact  that  the  people  of  Uri  were 
beginning  to  act  together  as  a  political  unit,  when  we  find 
them  treating  collectively,  as  inhabitants  of  Uri,  concerning 
new  tithes  with  an  officer  of  the  Abbey,  and  arranging  the 
boundary  line  on  the  Klausen  Pass  with  the  Kastvogt  of 
Glarus.  When  in  1218  the  family  of  Zaeringen  died  out,  the 
Emperor  Frederic  II.  made  several  changes  in  the  Ziirichgau. 
Amongst  others  he  took  the  land  of  Uri  from  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  imperial  bailiff  of  the  Zurich  nunnery,  without,  how- 
ever, affecting  the  tithes  to  be  paid  to  that  institution,  and 
gave  it  in  fief  to  Rudolf  of  Habsburg,  surnamed  the  Old. 

For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the  process  of  emancipa- 
tion in  Uri  had  received  a  fatal  check.  The  immunity  was 
lost,  and  the  country  was  in  the  power  of  an  ambitious  family. 
Indeed  the  case  seemed  hopeless,  when  one  of  those  happy 
chances,  which  have  often  appeared  in  Swiss  history,  com- 


76  THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

pletely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs  in  Uri.  In  1231  Fred- 
eric's son,  Henry  (VII),  recalled  this  grant,  probably  in  answer 
to  the  prayers  of  the  men  of  Uri,  and  issued  a  charter  to  them 
(iiniversis  hominibus  in  valle  Uraniae)  in  which  he  freed  them 
from  the  power  of  Habsburg.  The  Latin  original  of  this  doc- 
ument is  lost,  but  it  was  copied  by  Tschudi  and  reads  as  fol- 
lows, without  the  greeting  and  signature:  "In  the  desire 
always  to  do  that  which  shall  serve  your  interest  and  welfare, 
we  have  hereby  bought  you  and  set  you  free  from  the  posses- 
sion of  Count  Rudolf  of  Habsburg  and  promise  that  we  will 
never  put  you  away  from  us,  either  by  feoff ment  or  by  mort- 
gage (per  concessioner*  seu  per  obligationem),  but  will  always 
keep  you  and  shield  you  in  our  service  and  in  that  of  the 
empire.  Therefore  we  exhort  your  community  (universitatem 
vestram)  most  sincerely  that  you  believe  and  do  in  regard  to 
the  requisition  and  payment  of  our  taxes,  whatsoever  our  faith- 
ful Arnold  of  Baden  (de  Aquis)  may  tell  you,  and  bid  you  do 
from  me,  in  order  that  we  may  praise  your  ready  fidelity, 
because  with  the  assent  of  our  council  we  have  considered  it 
good  to  send  him  to  you  .  .  .  ."J 

Thus  the  immunity  was  saved.  The  charter  was  carefully 
preserved  amongst  the  archives,  and  Uri  had  taken  a  long  step 
on  the  road  which  led  to  complete  independence.  During  the 
interregnum  which  immediately  preceded  the  election  of  Rudolf 
of  Habsburg  to  the  throne,  the  inhabitants  called  upon  him 
to  act  as  arbitrator  in  a  quarrel  between  two  of  their  families, 
but  it  is  not  known  that  an  imperial  bailiff  (Reichsvogt)  was 
appointed  to  govern  the  country,  indeed  the  sovereign  himself 
seems  to  have  treated  on  several  occasions  directly  with  the 
head  of  the  community,  the  Ammann  (Amtmami)  or  minister, 
whom  he  appointed  from  their  midst.  We  hear  of  the  com- 
monwealth levying  taxes  in  1243,  possessing  a  seal  with  the 
inscription  »S.  Vallis  Vranie  (later  5.  Hominum  Vallis  Vranie), 
and  finally  in  1291  changing  the  title  of  Ammann  into  the 
more  comprehensive  one  of  Landammann. 

1  Oechsli,  W.   Quellenbuch.     p.  46. 


URL  77 

Once  more  the  immunity  of  Uri  was  confirmed,  and  that  by 
Rudolf  of  Habsburg  himself,  for  hardly  had  he  become  King 
when  he  promised  "his  loyal  and  good  people"  (fideles  egregii) 
the  maintenance  and  even  the  increase  of  their  privileges 
(libertates  honores  etjurd),  in  the  heartiest  and  most  unmistak- 
able terms.  Never  after  was  the  immunity  of  Uri  seriously 
disputed. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SCHWIZ.. 

IN  the  meantime  Schwiz  was  pushing  toward  the  same  goal, 
but  by  a  different  road.  Here  it  was  the  freemen  who 
formed  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  and  who  took  the  lead 
in  the  work  of  emancipation. 

The  name  of  this  district  appears  for  the  first  time  as 
Suuites,  in  a  document  dated  970,  which  deals  with  an 
exchange  of  land  between  the  monasteries  of  Pfaffers  and 
Einsiedeln.  Suuit  is  apparently  the  name  of  a  person,  and  es 
the  genitive  ending,  but  nothing  is  known  of  the  meaning  of 
this  name. 

In  the  beginning  the  designation  of  Schwiz  was  not  applied 
to  the  whole  territory  which  is  now  included  in  the  Canton, 
but  only  to  a  region  lying  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  vil- 
lages of  Schwiz  and  Morschach  with  the  Muota  valley.  Even  in 
this  small  area  several  convents  held  property,  amongst  others 
the  powerful  Abbey  of  Einsiedeln,  which  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  the  immunity.  Two  estates  belonged  first  to  Lenzburg, 
then  to  Habsburg.  The  greater  part  fyf  the  land,  however, 
was  in  the  hands  of  free  peasants,  paying  the  Count  of  the 
Ziirichgau  a  tax  of  sixty  marks  (equal  to  about  15,000  francs 
in  modern  money),  but  possessing  a  separate  court  of  justice, 
Freigericht,  which  was  chosen  from  their  midst,  and  was  pre- 
sided over  by  an  Ammann,  selected  by  them  and  the  Count 
conjointly.  As  in  Uri,  so  here,  the  whole  population,  bond 
and  free,  were  united  in  a  vigorous  Markgenossenschaft. 

The  name  of  Schwiz  was  first  brought  into  history  by  the 

1  Rilliet,  A.     Origines.    p.  343. 

78 


SCHWIZ.  79 

famous  dispute  of  this  Association  of  the  Mark,  with  the  monks 
of  Einsiedeln  concerning  certain  forests  and  Alpine  pastures, 
lying  on  the  confines  of  their  respective  territories.  The  men 
of  Schwiz  claimed  them  as  part  of  their  Almend,  the  monks 
maintained  that  they  belonged  to  the  lands  deeded  to  the 
Abbey  when  it  was  founded.  The  strife  ran  on  for  many 
years ;  the  two  sides  robbed,  burned  and  plundered ;  every  act 
led  to  retaliation,  and  the  question  seemed  to  defy  all  attempts 
at  a  satisfactory  solution.  The  emperors  Henry  IV.,  in  1 1 14, 
and  Conrad  III.,  in  1 144,  gave  decisions  unfavorable  to  Schwiz. 
In  1217  Count  Rudolf  I.  of  Habsburg,  having  been  requested 
to  arbitrate,  rendered  a  verdict  which  was  rather  more  favor- 
able than  had  been  the  others.  It  brought  about  a  temporary 
cessation  of  hostilities.  In  his  written  judgment  on  this  sub- 
ject Rudolf  calls  himself  "rightful  bailiff  and  protector  of 
the  people  of  Schwiz  by  inheritance"  (von  rechter  Erbschaft 
rechter  Vb'get  und  Schirmer  der  vorgenanden  Luten  von 
Schwitz)?  a  proof  that  the  office  of  bailiff  had  already  lost  its 
original  signification,  for  this  official  had  heretofore  regularly 
been  appointed  by  the  crown.  This  right  Rudolf  based  upon 
having  inherited  the  estates  of  Lenzburg  and  upon  his  position 
as  Count  of  the  Ziirichgau.  At  the  division  of  the  Habsburg 
inheritance  in  1232,  Schwiz  fell  to  his  son  Rudolf  II.,  the 
founder  of  the  line  Habsburg-Laufenburg,  under  whose  rule 
the  liberties  of  the  people  seemed  for  the  first  time  seriously 
to  suffer.  Therefore,  emboldened  by  the  success  of  Uri  in 
obtaining  a  charter  from  King  Henry,  the  men  of  Schwiz  sent 
messengers  to  Frederic  II.  as  he  lay  besieging  Faenza  in 
Northern  Italy,  to  beseech  his  protection.  The  mission 
arrived  just  at  the  right  moment,  when  the  relations  between 
the  emperor  and  Count  Rudolf  were  not  of  the  best.  Frederic 
issued  a  charter  to  "all  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  Swites" 
(universis  hominibus  vallis  in  Swites},  in  which  he  conferred 
upon  them  the  imperial  immunity.  The  original  of  this  much 
prized  document,  dated  1240,  the  oldest  of  the  Swiss  charters 

1  Rilliet,  A.     Origines.    pp.  403-404. 


80  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

now  extant,  is  religiously  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Can- 
ton, and  reads :  "  Having  received  letters  and  messengers 
from  you  to  prove  and  make  known  your  conversion  and  sub- 
mission to  us,  we  accede  to  your  express  desire  with  gracious 
and  affectionate  good  will;  we  praise  your  submission  and 
loyalty  not  a  little  in  that  you  have  shown  the  zeal,  which  you 
have  always  had  for  us  and  the  empire,  by  taking  protection 
under  our  wings  and  those  of  the  empire,  as  you  are  bound  to 
do,  being  freemen  (tamquam  hommes  liberi),  who  must  turn  to 
us  and  to  the  empire  alone.  Since,  therefore,  you  have  chosen 
our  rule  and  that  of  the  empire  of  your  own  free  will,  we 
receive  your  loyalty  with  open  arms,  and  respond  to  your  sin- 
cere affection  with  our  single-minded  favor  and  good-will,  by 
taking  you  under  our  special  protection  and  that  of  the  empire, 
so  that  we  will  never  allow  you  to  be  alienated  or  withdrawn 
from  our  sovereign  rule  and  that  of  the  empire "* 

This  assurance,  though  expressed  in  the  heartiest  terms, 
was  not  explicit  enough  to  be  altogether  effective.  At  all 
events  Rudolf  of  Habsburg  remained  at  his  post,  and  no 
imperial  bailiff  was  sent  to  take  his  place.  It  was  then  that 
the  men  of  Schwiz  resorted  to  arms,  and  made  common  cause 
against  the  house  of  Habsburg  with  the  men  of  Unterwalclen 
(first  Obwalden  and  then  Nidwalden),  and  with  the  burghers 
of  Luzern.  They  concluded,  about  the  year  1245,  the  first 
Swiss  league  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge.  This  act  was 
consummated  just  at  the  time  of  the  struggle  between  Fred- 
eric II.  and  the  papacy,  and  the  young  league  boldly  joined 
forces  with  the  king  against  the  papal  party,  to  which  Count 
Rudolf  belonged. 

When,  however,  the  emperor  Frederic  died,  excommunicated 
and  deposed,  their  humiliation  quickly  followed.  This  deplor- 
able result  was  hastened  by  another  circumstance.  During  the 
very  heat  of  the  conflict,  in  1247,  Count  Rudolf  had  prevailed 
upon  the  Pope  to  issue  a  bull,2  in  which  the  Prior  of  the  con- 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.    p.  47. 

2  Ibid.     p.  48. 


SCHWIZ.  81 

vent  of  Oelemberg  in  Elsass  was  empowered  to  set  a  time, 
within  which  the  people  of  Subritz  (sic)  and  Sarmon  (Schwiz 
and  Sarnen)  as  well  as  those  of  Luzern,  if  he  could  prove  their 
complicity,  were  to  renounce  their  allegiance  to  the  deposed 
Frederic  under  pain  of  interdict,  to  return  into  the  unity  of 
the  church,  and  to  subject  themselves  to  their  lawful  lord,  the 
Count.  About  the  same  time  the  latter  built  the  fortress  of 
Neu-Habsburg  on  a  promontory  of  the  lake  which  separates 
the  Bay  of  Luzern  from  that  of  Kiissnacht  —  a  far  more  effect- 
ive mode  of  dealing  with  the  rude  mountaineers  than  the  most 
threatening  of  papal  bulls. 

We  know  very  little  beyond  these  few  facts  concerning  the 
course  of  this  first  revolt.  It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that 
a  part  of  the  traditions  which  the  popular  mind  connects  with 
the  uprising  after  King  Rudolf's  death  in  1291,  had  their  ori- 
gin in  events  which  took  place  in  1245.  In  1273  Schwiz 
passed  from  the  possession  of  the  line  Habsburg-Laufenburg 
to  Rudolf  III.,  of  Habsburg- Austria,  a  few  days  before  his 
election  to  the  throne  of  Germany. 

Here  was  a  sudden  danger.  A  Habsburg  on  the  throne! 
The  men  of  Schwiz  had  every  reason  to  fear  that  their  aspira- 
tions toward  independence  would  bring  down  upon  them  the 
wrath  of  the  new  sovereign,  who  in  his  exalted  position  would 
have  many  opportunities  of  frustrating  their  plans.  Their 
apprehensions,  however,  were  not  exactly  justified,  for  they 
virtually  came  into  possession  of  the  immunity,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  Rudolf  refused  to  confirm  the  charter  issued 
to  them  by  the  late  Emperor  Frederic. 

Rudolf,  the  King,  did  not  surrender  his  rights  of  Landgrave, 
but  kept  them  well  in  hand  throughout  his  reign.  He  did  not 
appoint  a  bailiff,  but  collected  the  taxes  in  his  own  name,  and 
selected  the  men  who  were  to  act  as  Ammanner  for  the  free- 
men and  for  his  two  estates.  Now,  the  curious  result  of  this 
procedure  was  that  Schwiz  was  thereby  virtually  governed 
directly  by  the  sovereign  himself,  without  the  intervention  of 
the  county  officials  —  in  others  words,  Schwiz  was  placed  in 


82  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

immediate  dependence  upon  the  empire,  and  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  Reichsunmittelbarkeit. 

In  1278  the  revenues  of  Schwiz,  along  with  those  of  the  lit- 
tle town  of  Sempach  and  of  several  other  places  in  the  vicin- 
ity, were  promised  to  Joan,  daughter  of  Edward  L,  King 
of  England,  in  the  event  of  her  marriage  with  Hartmann, 
Rudolf's  son.  By  the  revenues  of  Schwiz  must  be  understood 
those  from  the  two  Habsburg  estates,  with  perhaps  the  sixty 
marks  previously  mentioned  as  being  the  annual  tax  paid  by 
the  freemen  to  the  Count  of  Ziirichgau.  This  marriage,  how- 
ever, never  took  place.  Young  Hartmann  was  drowned  in  the 
Rhine,  and  Joan  married  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  some  years 
later.1 

In  1281  the  revenues  were  mortgaged  to  Eberhard  of  Habs- 
burg-Laufenburg,  Rudolf's  cousin,  but  the  administration  of 
the  country  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  sovereign. 

Far  from  being  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  Schwiz,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  this  reign  proved  in  reality  a  bless- 
ing in  disguise.  Many  new  privileges  were  actually  accorded. 
An  act  was  issued  which  specified  that  the  inhabitants  need 
not  obey  summons  to  appear  before  any  tribunal  outside  of 
the  valley,  but  were  answerable  only  to  the  king,  his  sons,  or 
to  the  judge  of  the  valley  itself.  In  1291  a  document  further 
declares  that  this  judge  shall  never  be  a  bondman.  As  early 
as  1281  the  commonwealth  was  in  possession  of  a  seal,  as  sym- 
bol of  its  sovereignty,  bearing  the  inscription  :  5.  Universitatis 
in  Swites  around  an  image  of  St.  Martin,  the  patron  saint  of 
the  country. 

The  final  unification  of  Schwiz  into  one  community  was 
accomplished  when  a  single  Landammann  was  appointed  to 
take  the  place  of  the  four  Ammanner  who  had  heretofore 
been  chosen. 

1  Coolidge,  W.  A.  B.    The  English  Historical  Review.    Oct.  1886.    pp.  738-739. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

UNTERWALDEN. 

THROUGH  probably  the  first  of  the  three  Forest  States  to 
1  be  colonized,  Unterwalden  was  undoubtedly  the  last  to 
become  free.  It  will  be  seen  upon  the  map  that  the  modern 
Canton  is  divided  into  two  natural  sections  by  a  range  of 
mountains,  extending  back  from  the  Stanzerhorn  to  the  snow- 
clad  peak  of  the  Titlis.  The  fact  that  a  great  forest  formerly 
covered  part  of  this  range  caused  the  two  valleys  to  be 
called  respectively  Obwalden  (Above-the-Forest)  and  Nidwal- 
den  (Below-the-Forest).  They  were  not  named  together 
Unterwalden  (In-the-Midst-of-the-Forest)  until  a  comparatively 
late  date. 

Here  the  struggle  for  independence  was  fraught  with  even 
greater  difficulties  than  in  Uri  or  Schwiz,  for  the  land  was 
owned  by  a  multitude  of  different  masters,  and  instead  of  one 
Markgenossenschaft  for  the  whole  country,  there  was  one  for 
every  valley.  As  a  consequence  there  was  no  basis  for  com- 
mon action  amongst  the  inhabitants,  and  the  work  of  unifica- 
tion was  much  retarded. 

Chief  amongst  the  land-owners  was  the  monastery  of  Engel- 
berg,  an  institution  of  great  antiquity  situated  at  the  foot  of 
the  Titlis.  The  monks  of  St.  Ledger  in  Luzern  also  owned 
estates,  as  well  as  the  Counts  of  Habsburg  and  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  native  nobility,  such  as  the  Knights  of  Winkelried. 
There  was  also  a  goodly  sprinkling  of  free  peasants,  but  they 
were  slow  to  organize  themselves  into  communities.  The  free- 
men of  Stans  and  Sarnen  seem  to  have  made  a  beginning  in 
the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century;  at  all  events  in  1291, 


84  THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

these  two  districts  apparently  possessed  all  the  characteristics 
of  full-grown  commonwealths. 

The  administration  of  the  country  belonged  mainly  to  the 
Count  of  the  Ziirichgau.  When,  therefore,  in  the  thirteenth 
century  the  house  of  Habsburg  came  into  possession  of  this 
office,  and  also  acquired  the  stewardship  (Kastvogtei)  of  all  the 
monasteries  owning  land  in  the  district,  except  Engelberg  — 
Obwalden  and  Nidwalden  came  virtually  under  the  complete 
control  of  Habsburg,  the  more  so  as  the  confusion  of  the 
period  made  it  possible  for  the  holders  of  such  titles  to  exer- 
cise almost  unlimited  jurisdiction. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    FIRST    PERPETUAL    LEAGUE. 

THE  reader  who  has  derived  his  ideas  of  the  origin  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation  from  Schiller's  play  of  "William 
Tell,"  will  doubtless  feel  disappointed  at  the  picture  here  pre- 
sented. Tradition  would  have  us  believe  that  the  three  states 
were  from  the  very  beginning  independent  commonwealths  of 
freemen,  leagued  together  from  time  immemorial,  that  they 
voluntarily  submitted  themselves  to  the  German  empire  during 
the  reign  of  Frederic  II.,  and  only  revolted  when  King 
Albrecht  of  Habsburg  sought  to  put  an  end  to  their  liberties. 
This  view  is  quite  incompatible  with  contemporary  evidence. 
Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden  were  not  originally  independent 
states  with  fully  developed  republican  forms  of  government; 
nor  can  there  be  a  question  of  their  having  voluntarily  submit- 
ted themselves  to  the  empire,  since  they  formed  a  part  of  it  as 
early  as  we  have  any  records.  If  modern  research  has  proved 
anything  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  it  is  that  the  Forest 
States  gained  their  freedom  after  the  lapse  of  centuries  of  per- 
sistent toil,  and  not  at  one  blow. 

But  what  was  the  danger  which  prompted  their  final  union  ? 
What  the  bond  which  held  them  together  through  all  their 
trials  and  tribulations  ?  Stated  in  the  simplest  terms  it  was 
the  existence  of  a  common  enemy  in  the  ambitious  and  not 
over-scrupulous  house  of  Habsburg.  Though  these  young 
communities  had  advanced  thus  far  toward  the  attainment  of 
autonomy, they  were  overshadowed  by  a  power  which  threat- 
ened at  any  moment  to  engulf  them.  There  was  a  natural, 
inevitable  antagonism  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  Forest 

85 


86  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

States  and  the  Counts  of  Habsburg,  the  former  alert  to  defend 
their  liberties,  the  latter  to  extend  their  stewardship  into 
unquestioned  dominion. 

Since  his  accession  to  the  throne  Rudolf  had  extended  his 
power  in  all  directions.  By  reconciling  himself  to  the  church 
in  an  interview  with  Pope  Gregory  X.,  in  the  cathedral  of 
Lausanne,  he  saved  himself  from  an  attack  from  the  south. 
In  1278  he  pacified  the  eastern  boundaries  of  his  realm  by  con- 
quering his  great  rival,  Ottocar,  King  of  Bohemia,  at  the  same 
time  giving  the  lands  thus  obtained,  Austria,  Styria  and  Car- 
inthia  to  his  sons  as  imperial  fiefs.  In  this  manner  the  title 
of  Duke  of  Austria  became  associated  with  the  name  of 
Habsburg. 

Amongst  his  other  exploits  was  a  siege  of  the  flourishing 
city  of  Bern,  which  had  refused  to  pay  imperial  taxes.  The 
citizens  defended  themselves  bravely  for  almost  a  year,  until 
the  king's  younger  son,  Rudolf,  succeeded  in  enticing  a  large 
detachment  into  an  ambush  at  the  Schlosshalden.  After  this 
defeat  Bern  was  obliged  to  yield  to  the  sovereign's  demands. 
In  Alamannia  he  displayed  the  greatest  ingenuity  in  finding 
pretexts  for  usurping  lands  and  titles.  He  wrested  an  estate 
from  the  Abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  absorbed  the  possessions  of  the 
house  of  Rapperswil,  acquired  the  office  of  Mayor  over  ecclesi- 
astical property  in  Glarus  for  his  sons,  and  just  before  his 
death  took  advantage  of  the  financial  straits,  into  which  the 
Abbey  of  Murbach  in  Elsass  had  fallen,  to  purchase  its  scat- 
tered estates,  which  were  situated  partly  in  Luzern  and  in  the 
Forest  States.  Nor  did  the  stewardship  (Kastvogtei)  of  the 
monastery  of  Einsiedeln  and  Pfaffers  escape  him. 

Nothing  can  give  one  so  good  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  the 
family  power  of  Habsburg  on  all  sides  of  Uri,  Schwiz  and 
Unterwalden,  as  the  roll  of  the  estates,  the  so-called  Urbarbuch, 
in  which  were  recorded  the  lists  of  properties  and  offices  with 
the  revenues  appertaining  to  them.  An  examination  of  this 
terrier,  which  was  begun  by  Rudolf  and  finished  by  his  son 
Albrecht,  shows  conclusively  that  the  Forest  States  were  sur- 


THE  FIRST  PERPETUAL  LEAGUE.  87 

rounded  by  a  veritable  cordon  of  Habsburg  estates,  and  that 
nothing  but  a  determined  effort  on  their  part  could  save 
them  from  becoming  completely  owned  by  that  ambitious 
family. 

Rudolf  of  Habsburg  died  on  the  I5th  of  July,  1291,  and 
seventeen  days  after,  on  the  ist  of  August,  the  three  Forest 
States  concluded  a  perpetual  league  and  signed  what  may  be 
styled  the  first  federal  constitution  of  the  Swiss  Confederation. 

The  promptness  with  which  this  great  act  was  consummated 
seems  to  suggest  that  the  text  of  the  perpetual  pact  had  been 
drawn  up  previously  and  held  in  abeyance  to  be  ratified  after 
the  King's  death. 

The  Latin  original  parchment  is  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  Schwiz.  In  the  following  translation  the  words  "Invoca- 
tion" and  "Preamble,"  and  the  numbers  are  inserted  for  the 
sake  of  clearness. 

"(Invocation.)  In  the  name  of  God  —  Amen.  (Preamble.) 
Honor  and  the  public  weal  are  promoted  when  leagues  are 
concluded  for  the  proper  establishment  of  quiet  and  peace, 
i.  Therefore,  know  all  men,  that  the  people  of  the  valley  of 
Uri,  the  democracy  of  the  valley  of  Schwiz,  and  the  commu- 
nity of  the  mountaineers  of  the  Lower  Valley  (homines  vallts 
Vranie,  Universitasque  vallis  de  Switz  ac  communitas  homi- 
num  intramontanorum  vallis  inferioris),  seeing  the  malice  of 
the  age,  in  order  that  they  may  better  defend  themselves  and 
their  own,  and  better  preserve  them  in  proper  condition,  have 
promised  in  good  faith  to  assist  each  other  with  aid,  with 
every  counsel  and  every  favor,  with  person  and  goods,  within 
the  valleys  and  without,  with  might  and  main,  against  one  and 
all,  who  may  inflict  upon  any  one  of  them  any  violence,  molest- 
ation or  injury,  or  may  plot  any  evil  against  their  persons  or 
goods.  2.  And  in  every  case  each  community  has  promised 
to  succour  the  other  when  necessary,  at  its  own  expense,  as 
far  as  needed  in  order  to  withstand  the  attacks  of  evil-doers,  and 
to  avenge  injuries ;  to  this  end  they  have  sworn  a  bodily  oath 
to  keep  this  without  guile,  and  to  renew  by  these  presents  the 


88  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

ancient  form  of  the  league,  1  [also]  confirmed  by  an  oath. 
3.  Yet  in  such  a  manner  that  every  man,  according  to  his 
rank,  shall  obey  and  serve  his  overlord  as  it  behooves  him. 

4.  We  have  also  promised,  decreed  and   ordered  in   com- 
mon council  and  by  unanimous  consent,  that  we  will  accept 
or  receive  no  judge  in  the  aforesaid  valleys,  who  shall  have 
obtained  his   office  for  any  price,,  or  for  money  in   any  way 
whatever,  or  one  who  shall  not  be  a  native  or  a  resident  with 
us. 

5.  But  if  dissension  shall  arise  between  any  of  the  confed- 
erates, the  most  prudent  amongst  the  confederates  shall  come 
forth  to  settle  the  difficulty  between  the  parties,  as  shall  seem 
right  to  them;  and  whichever  party  rejects  their  verdict  shall 
be  an  adversary  to  the  other  confederates. 

6.  Furthermore  as  has  been  established  between  them  that 
he  who  deliberately  kills  another  without  provocation,  shall,  if 
caught,  lose  his  life,  as  his  wicked  guilt  requires,  unless  he  be 
able  to  prove  his  innocence  of  said  crime;  and  if  perchance  he 
escape,  let  him  never  return.     Concealers    and    defenders    of 
said  criminal  shall  be  banished  from  the  valleys,  until  they  be 
expressly  recalled  by  the  confederates. 

7.  But  if  any  one  of  the  confederates,  by  day,  or  in   the 
silence  of  the  night,  shall  maliciously  injure  another  by  fire,  he 
shall  never  be  considered  a  compatriot.     8.     If  any  man  pro- 
tect and  defend  the  said  criminal,  he  shall  render  satisfac- 
tion to  the  injured  person.     9.    Furthermore,  if  any  one  of  the 
confederates  shall  spoil  another  of  his  goods,  or  injure  him  in 
any  way,  the  goods  of  the  guilty  one,  if  recovered  within  the 
valleys,  shall  be  seized  in  order  to  pay  damages  to  the  injured 
person,  according  to  justice.      10.    Furthermore,  no  man  shall 
seize  another's  goods  for  debt,  unless  he  be  evidently  his  debtor 
or  surety,  and  this  shall  only  be  done  with  the  special  permis- 
sion of  his  judge.     Moreover,  every  man  shall  obey  his  judge, 
and  if  necessary,  must  himself  indicate  the  judge  in  the  valley, 

1  Referring  to  some  previously  enacted  league,  whose  provisions  aro   not 
known. 


THE  FIRST  PERPETUAL  LEAGUE.  89 

before  whom  he  ought  properly  to  appear,  u.  And  if  any 
one  rebels  against  a  verdict,  and,  in  consequence  of  his  obsti- 
nacy, any  one  of  the  confederates  is  injured,  all  the  confeder- 
ates are  bound  to  compel  the  contumacious  person  to  give 
satisfaction. 

12.  But  if  war  or  discord  arise  amongst  any  of  the  confed- 
erates and  one  party  of  the  disputants  refuse  to  accept  justice 
or  satisfaction,  the  confederates  are  bound  to  defend  the  other 
party. 

13.  The  above-written   statutes,  decreed  for  the   common- 
weal and  health,  shall  endure    forever,   God  willing.     In  testi- 
timony  of  which,  at  the  request  of  the  aforesaid  parties,  the 
present  instrument  has  been  drawn  up  and  confirmed  with  the 
seals  of  the  aforesaid  three  communities  and  valleys. 

Done  Anno  Domini  M.CC.LXXXX.  primo.  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month  of  August." 

A  recent  examination  of  the  seals,  attached  to  the  docu- 
ment, shows  that  the  third  one,  which  has  heretofore  been 
taken  to  represent  Nidwalden  alone,  is  the  same  as  that  used 
in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  for  the  whole  of 
Unterwalden.  The  presumption  seems  to  be  justified,  there- 
fore, that  Obwalden  also  joined  the  league  of  1291. 

On  the  whole  the  above  agreement  is  just  what  would  be 
suggested  to  men  working  entirely  by  experience  and  not  upon 
any  definite  theory.  It  is  neither  complete  nor  altogether  sat- 
isfactory, when  viewed  in  the  light  of  modern  statecraft ;  but 
it  served  its  purpose  admirably,  and  showed  the  touch  of  what 
we  call  practical  men.  Indeed  this  first  perpetual  pact  of  the 
Forest  States  is  distinctly  a  conservative  utterance  —  a  sort  of 
compromise  between  a  declaration  of  independence  from  the 
nobles,  and  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  feudal . system  itself, 
as  befitting  a  people  conscious  of  a  grievance  and  yet  unwill- 
ing to  break  with  the  past.  The  pact  was  enacted  "for  the 
proper  establishment  of  quiet  and  peace."  Moreover,  the  third 
provision  expressly  states  that  "every  man,  according  to  his 
rank,  shall  obey  and  serve  his  overlord,  as  it  behooves  him." 


90  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Here  is  direct  evidence  from  the  people  of  the  Forest  States 
themselves  that  they  did  not  aspire  as  yet  to  be  free  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  nineteenth  century  understands  that  term. 
As  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the  document  itself,  there  was 
no  intention  of  cutting  adrift  from  all  previous  enactments  to 
found  a  new  state,  although  this  was  the  actual  result  of  the 
league.  The  struggle  seems  to  have  been  directed  more  par- 
ticularly against  corrupt  judges,  as  is  shown  by  the  emphatic 
declaration  in  regard  to  them.  Especially  noteworthy  is  the 
provision  made  for  settling  quarrels  between  the  States  by 
arbitration,  a  method  which  thereafter  received  wide  applica- 
tion in  the  public  affairs  of  the  young  Confederation. 

History  has  recorded  no  words  in  which  childlike  faith  in 
the  justice  of  a  cause  and  prophetic  insight  into  its  inevitable 
triumph  have  been  better  expressed  than  in  the  closing  lines : 
"  The  above-written  statutes,  decreed  for  the  commonweal  and 
health,  shall  endure  forever,  God  willing."  Succeeding  cen- 
turies have  practically  verified  the  nai've  declaration  of  this 
group  of  unpretentious  patriots,  for  the  perpetual  pact  remained 
the  fundamental  statute-law  of  the  growing  Confederation  for 
centuries,  and  was  only  superseded  by  enactments  of  a  more 
modern  date,  when  it  had  as  a  matter  of  fact  died  of  old  age. 

The  name  of  the  place  where  this  historic  document  was 
signed  is  not  revealed  in  the  text,  but  in  any  case  it  must  have 
been  somewhere  in  the  incomparable  environment  of  the  Lake 
of  Luzern.  It  is  also  to  be  regretted  that  the  names  of  the 
signers  have  not  been  handed  down  to  us.  We  can  only  spec- 
ulate as  to  who  those  patriots  were,  but  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance has  put  us  in  possession  of  a  list  of  men  who,  if  they 
were  not  the  actual  signers  of  the  first  league,  were  at  all 
events  leading  personages  in  two  of  the  Forest  States  at  the 
time  under  consideration. 

A  little  more  than  two  months  after  the  conclusion  of  this 
league,  Uri  and  Schwiz  entered  into  a  separate  alliance  for 
three  years  with  Zurich, 1  and  the  names  of  their  representatives 

1  Oechsli,  W.    QuellenbucH.     p.  50. 


THE  FIRST  PERPETUAL   LEAGUE.  91 

are  mentioned  in  the  document  then  drawn  up.  For  Uri  there 
was  the  Landammann  Arnold,  Mayor  of  Silenen,  besides 
Knight  Werner  von  Attinghausen,  Burkart,  the  late  Landam- 
mann,  and  Conrad,  Mayor  of  Erstfeld;  and  for  Schwiz  there. 
was  the  Landammann  Conrad  Ab  Iberg,  Rudolf  Stauffacher, 
and  Conrad  Hunn  —  representatives  of  all  the  classes  in  the 
community,  from  noblemen  to  the  descendants  of  serfs. 

The  conclusion  is  legitimate  that  the  above-mentioned  men 
were  typical  leaders,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  they,  or  at 
least  some  of  their  number,  were  also  the  signers  of  the  first 
perpetual  league.  If  this  be  the  case,  we  may  infer  that  these 
early  leagues  were  in  reality  the  combined  work  of  the  com- 
mon people  and  of  the  native  aristocracy,  co-operating  in  the 
great  cause  which  lay  so  near  their  hearts. 

Moreover,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  patriots,  whose 
names  appear  in  the  alliance  with  Zurich,  with  perhaps  the 
addition  of  the  unknown  Landammann  of  Unterwalden,  may 
be  proclaimed  the  real  founders  of  the  Swiss  Confederation. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  WILLIAM  TELL.1 

SOME  years  ago  the  announcement  went  abroad  that  the 
familiar  story  of  William  Tell  was  not  historically  true  J 
that  such  a  person  never  existed,  or,  if  he  did,  could  never 
have  played  the  role  ascribed  to  him  as  founder  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation.  It  was  discovered  that  when  the  methods  of 
research  which  Niebuhr  had  used  with  so  much  skill  to  eluci- 
date the  origin  of  Rome  were  applied  also  to  the  early  days  of 
the  Confederation,  the  episode  of  William  Tell  became  a  fire- 
side tale,  a  bit  of  folk-lore;  valuable  from  a  literary  standpoint, 
but  without  historical  significance.  Unfortunately,  he  had 
long  been  regarded  as  a  universal  household  friend,  a  prime 
favorite  with  the  children,  and  one  who  appealed  also  to  their 
elders  as  a  singularly  picturesque  representative  of  Liberty 
striving  successfully  against  Tyranny.  He  had,  moreover, 
called  forth  the  best  powers  of  at  least  one  great  poet,  Schiller, 
and  one  famous  musician,  Rossini,  so  that  his  claim  seemed  to 
the  world  established  beyond  question  by  the  sanction  of  gen- 
ius. It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  this  adverse  report  should 
be  received  with  incredulity  and  indignation.  At  first  people 
preferred  to  cling  to  their  belief  in  William  Tell,  rather  than 
to  sacrifice  another  illusion  of  their  childhood  to  the  all-devoi>r- 
ing,  investigating  spirit  of  the  age ;  the  more  so  because  they 
knew  little  or  nothing  about  the  history  of  Switzerland  beyond 
this  episode.  But  when  the  best  authorities,  one  by  one, 
declared  themselves  against  the  truth  of  the  tradition,  the 
conviction  gradually  gained  ground  that  the  old  hero  must  be 
classified  as  a  legendary  personage. 

1  Appeared  in  "The  Atlantic  Monthly,"  November,  1890. 

92 


THE  LEGEND    OF    WILLIAM  TELL.  93 

The  truth  is,  there  have  always  been  a  certain  number  of 
objectors  to  the  accuracy  of  the  tradition  which  based  Swiss 
liberty  upon  the  shot  of  a  skillful  archer,  but  their  words  have 
made  no  lasting  impression  upon  the  public  mind.  As  early 
as  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Joachim  von  Watt, 
the  reformer  of  St.  Gallen,  better  known  under  his  Latinized 
name  of  Vadianus,  had  spoken  of  the  subject  in  his  Chronicle 
of  the  Abbots  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Gallen  :  "  Of  these  three 
lands "  [meaning  the  present  Cantons  of  Uri,  Schwiz,  and 
Unterwalden]  "  they  tell  strange  things  in  regard  to  their  age 
and  origin.  ...  I  suspect  that  much  is  fabled,  and  some 
again,  may  not  be  likened  to  the  truth."1  In  1607,  the  writer, 
Francois  Guilliman,  of  Fribourg,  who  added  some  new  details 
to  the  story  of  William  Tell  in  his  history  De  Rebus  Helveti- 
orum,  makes  this  surprising  confession  in  a  letter  to  a  friend : 
"  After  having  maturely  pondered  the  matter,  I  consider  the 
whole  thing  a  mere  fable,  especially  as  I  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  discover  a  writer  or  chronicler,  more  than  a  century 
old,  who  mentions  it.  All  this  seems  to  have  been  invented 
to  nourish  hatred  against  Austria.  The  people  of  Uri  are 
not  agreed  amongst  themselves  in  regard  to  the  place  where 
William  Tell  lived ;  they  can  give  no  information  in  regard  to 
his  family  or  his  descendants."  Again,  in  1754,  Voltaire  said 
in  his  Annales  de  V Empire,  "IShistoire  de  la  pomme  est  bien 
suspccte" ;  and  in  his  Essai  sur  les  Mceurs,  "II  semble  quon 
ait  cru  devoir  orner  d'une  fable  le  berceau  de  la  liberte"  helve- 
tique"*  A  momentary  sensation  was  created  in  1760  by  a 
pamphlet  entitled  Der  Wilhelm  Tell,  Ein  Danisches  Mdhrgen, 
wnich  was  ordered  publicly  to  be  burned  by  the  hangman  of 
Canton  Uri,  so  bitter  had  the  controversy  become.  The  author 
was  a  certain  Uriel  Freudenberger,  pastor  at  Ligerz,  on  the 
Lake  of  Bienne,  and  his  attack  elicited  a  sharp  retort  from 
Felix  Balthazar,  of  Luzern,  a  Defense  de  Guillaume  Tell. 
Calm,  however,  was  restored  for  a  time  by  the  authoritative 

1Rilliet,  A.     Origines.     p.  311. 
2  Ibid.     pp.  312,  395. 


94  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

declarations  of  two  noted  historians,  Emmanuel  von  Haller 
and  Johannes  von  Miiller,  in  favor  of  the  traditional  hero, 
although  von  Miiller,  like  Guilliman,  privately  acknowledged  to 
a  friend  that  he  had  serious  doubts  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
wrote.  Even  Schiller,  whose  play  appeared  in  1804,  was  con- 
strained to  admit  that  in  the  tradition  William  Tell  had  really 
no  part  in  founding  the  Confederation,  and  he  was  conse- 
quently obliged  to  resort  to  such  expedients  as  his  art  sug- 
gested, in  order  to  make  his  hero  the  central  figure  of  the 
struggle  against  Austria. 

The  subject  finally  came  up  again  when  Joseph  Eutych 
Kopp  submitted  it  to  a  thorough  investigation  by  searching 
the  records  of  the  three  cantons,  and  publishing  his  results 
in  his  Urkunden  zur  Geschichte  der  Eidgenossischen  Biinde 
(1835-1857),  his  Reichsgeschichte  (1845-1858),  and  his  Ges- 
chichtsblatter  aus  der  Schweiz  (1853.) 

To  understand  the  commotion  produced  in  Switzerland  by 
Kopp's  expost  we  must  try  to  imagine  what  would  be  the 
result  in  the  United  States  if  George  Washington  were  sud- 
denly declared  to  be  a  legendary  character.  Every  one  sided 
for  or  against  the  truth  of  the  tradition  ;  no  one  could  remain 
neutral ;  but  from  that  day  to  this  the  impression  has  gradu- 
ally forced  itself  upon  the  minds  of  all  who  have  looked  into 
the  question  that  Kopp  was  in  the  main  right,  and  that, 
whatever  modifications  new  discoveries  may  make  necessary 
in  the  sweeping  judgment  which  that  historian  pronounced, 
William  Tell  can  never  again  be  looked  upon  as  the  founder  of 
the  Swiss  Confederation. 

Our  confidence  in  the  accuracy  of  the  tradition  is  firft 
shaken  by  the  fact  that  the  great  archer  is  not  mentioned  by  a 
single  writer  of  the  period  in  which  he  is  supposed  to  have 
lived,  or  even  the  faintest  allusion  made  to  him  in  the  records 
of  that  day.  To  begin  with,  therefore,  we  are  warranted  in 
doubting  his  historical  importance,  if  he  could  be  so  com- 
pletely ignored  by  his  contemporaries.  The  battle  of  Morgar- 
ten,  in  1315,  was  the  baptismal  day  of  the  young  confederation, 


THE  LEGEND    OF    WILLIAM  TELL.  95 

but  none  of  the  chroniclers  who  describe  this  event  and  the 
incidents  attending  it  have  a  word  to  say  of  a  William  Tell, 
or  of  any  one  who  could  be  mistaken  for  him.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  whole  tenor  of  these  writings  and  of  the  documents 
of  the  period  is  opposed  to  the  tradition.  The  impres- 
sion we  derive  from  them  is  that  the  Swiss  gained  their 
independence  after  a  long-continued  struggle,  not  by  a  sudden 
rising,  and  through  the  efforts  of  the  whole  people,  not  at  the 
instigation  of  one  man.  In  1420,  Konrad  Justinger,  of  Bern, 
in  writing  the  annals  of  his  native  city,  touched  upon  the 
origin  of  the  Confederation,  but  even  he  says  nothing  about 
William  Tell ;  nor  does  Felix  Hemmerlin,  of  Zurich,  writing 
upon  the  same  subject  in  1450. 

In  fact,  it  is  not  till  about  1477,  more  than  a  century  and  a 
half  after  William  Tell  was  supposed  to  have  lived,  that  we 
can  find  any  reference  to  him.  At  that  date  an  unknown  poet 
brought  out  a  ballad  entitled,  "  Song  of  the  Origin  of  the  Con- 
federation," in  twenty-nine  stanzas,  nine  of  which  seem  from 
internal  evidence  to  antedate  1474.  The  following  translation 
of  the  four  stanzas  which  bear  upon  the  subject,  the  first  to 
my  knowledge  which  has  appeared  in  English,  has  been  made 
without  any  attempt  at  metrical  correctness,  the  original  being 
extremely  rough  and  in  dialect : 

"  Now  listen  well,  dear  sirs, 
How  the  league  at  first  arose, 
Nor  let  yourselves  be  wearied ; 
How  one  from  his  own  son 
An  apple  from  the  head 
Had  with  his  hands  to  shoot. 

"  The  bailiff  spake  to  William  Tell; 
'  Now  look  thee  that  thy  skill  fail  not, 

And  hear  my  speech  with  care : 

Hit  thou  it  not  at  the  first  shot, 

Forsooth  it  bodes  thee  little  good, 

And  costeth  thee  thy  life.' 

"  Then  prayed  he  God  both  day  and  night 
He  might  at  first  the  apple  hit ; 
It  would  provoke  them  much  I 


96  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

He  had  the  luck,  by  the  power  of  God, 
That  he  with  all  his  art 
So  skillfully  could  shoot. 

"  Hardly  had  he  done  the  first  shot, 

An  arrow  did  he  put  in  his  quiver : 
*  Had  I  shot  down  my  child, 

I  had  it  in  my  mind  — 

I  tell  thee  for  the  honest  truth  — 

I  would  have  shot  thee  "also.' "* 

Subsequent  verses  describe  how  an  uproar  ensues,  in  which 
Tell  enumerates  the  evil  deeds  of  the  bailiffs.  These  are  then 
expelled,  and  young  and  old  unite  in  a  loyal  league.  It  will 
be  noticed,  however,  that  there  is  no  mention  of  the  name 
Gessler,  of  a  hat  set  upon  a  pole,  of  the  leap  at  the  Tellsplatte, 
or  of  the  murder  of  the  bailiff  at  Kiissnacht :  these  details 
appear  in  another  version,  dating  from  almost  the  same  time. 

Between  1467  and  1474,  a  notary  at  Sarnen,  in  the  Canton 
of  Unterwalden,  transcribed  a  number  of  traditions  in  the  form 
of  a  chronicle  into  a  collection  of  documents,  known  as  "The 
White  Book,"  on  account  of  the  color  of  its  parchment  bind- 
ing. Here  the  story  of  William  Tell  is  told  as  follows,  in  a 
style  of  archaic  simplicity  which  is  not  without  a  certain  charm 
of  its  own :  "  Now  it  happened  one  day  that  the  bailiff,  Gess- 
ler, went  to  Ure  [Canton  Uri],  and  took  it  into  his  head  and 
put  up  a  pole  under  the  lime-tree  in  Ure,  and  set  up  a  hat  upon 
the  pole,  and  had  a  servant  near  it,  and  made  a  command  who- 
ever passed  by  there  he  should  bow  before  the  hat,  as  though 
the  lord  were  there ;  and  he  who  did  it  not,  him  he  would  pun- 
ish and  cause  to  repent  heavily,  and  the  servant  was  to  watch 
and  tell  of  such  an  one.  Now  there  was  there  an  honest  man 
called  Thall ;  he  had  also  sworn  with  Stoupacher  and  his  fel- 
lows [a  reference  to  a  conspiracy  previously  described  in  The 
White  Book].  Now  he  went  rather  often  to  and  fro  before  it. 
The  servant  who  watched  by  the  hat  accused  him  to  the  lord. 
The  lord  went  and  had  Thall  sent,  and  asked  him  why  he  was 
not  obedient  to  his  bidding,  and  do  as  he  was  bidden.  Thall 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.    pp.  63-64. 


THE  LEGEND    OF    WILLIAM  TELL.  97 

spake :  *  It  happened  without  malice,  for  I  did  not  know  that 
it  would  vex  your  Grace  so  highly ;  for  were  I  witty,  then  were 
I  called  something  else,  and  not  the  Tall'  [the  Fool,  a  pun 
upon  his  name1].  Now  Tall  was  a  good  archer;  he  had  also 
pretty  children,  ^^j^e  the  lord  sent  for,  and  forced  Tall  with 
his  servants  tfjpHlpmust  shoot  an  apple  from  the  head  of 
one  of  his  chmdre^F for  the  lord  set  the  apple  upon  the  child's 
head.  NowTTall  Bw  well  that  he  was  mastered,  and  took  an 
arrow  and  put  it  i£o  his  quiver ;  the  other  arrow  he  took  in 
his  hand,  and  stretched  his  crossbow,  and  prayed  God  that  he 
might  save  his  child,  and  shot  the  apple  from  the  child's  head. 
The  lord  liked  this  well,  and  asked  him  what  he  meant  by  it 
[that  he  had  put  an  arrow  in  his  quiver].  He  answered  him, 
and  would  gladly  have  said  no  more  [an  obscure  passage ;  the 
original  is  hett  es  gern  jm  besten  ver  Retf].  The  lord  would 
not  leave  off ;  he  wanted  to  know  what  he  meant  by  it.  Tall 
feared  the  lord,  and  was  afraid  he  would  kill  him.  The  lord 
understood  his  fear  and  spake:  *Tell  me  the  truth;  I  will 
make  thy  life  safe,  and  not  kill  thee.'  Then  spake  Tall :  '  Since 
you  have  promised  me,  I  will  tell  you  the  truth,  and  it  is  true : 
had  the  shot  failed  me,  so  that  I  had  shot  my  child,  I  had  shot 
the  arrow  into  you  or  one  of  your  men.'  Then  spake  the  lord : 
*  Since  now  this  is  so,  it  is  true  I  have  promised  thee  not  to 
kill  thee ' ;  and  had  him  bound,  and  said  he  would  put  him  into 
a  place  where  he  would  never  more  see  sun  or  moon."2  The 
account  goes  on  to  describe  how  Tall,  in  being  taken  down  the 
lake  in  a  boat,  makes  his  escape  at  the  Tellsplatte,  and  later 
shoots  Gessler  in  the  Hohle  Gasse  at  Kiissnacht ;  but  he  is  not 
mentioned  as  taking  part  in  the  league  afterward  made ;  much 
less  does  he  figure  as  the  founder  of  the  Confederation. 

Now  the  question  arises,  How  can  we  account  for  the  sud- 
den appearance  of  William  Tell,  both  in  the  "  Song  of  the  Ori- 
gin of  the  Confederation"  and  in  "The  White  Book  of  Sar- 
nen,"  after  the  writers  of  a  century  and  a  half  had  passed  him 
over  in  complete  silence  ? 

1  Root  dalen,  to  act  childishly. 

2  Oechsli,  W.   Quellenbuch.     pp.  64-70. 


98  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

As  regards  the  simple  story  of  the  shot,  apart  altogether 
from  its  historical  application,  there  can  be  no  doubt  now,  after 
the  investigations  which  have  been  made  in  all  directions,  that 
we  have  to  do  here  with  a  widespread  household  myth,  belong- 
ing equally  to  many  branches  of  the  Gern^^family,  but  pre- 
served with  special  tenacity  in  the  retired  and  .•; conservative 
valley  of  Uri.  The  same  legend  occurs  in  various  parts  of 
northern  and  central  Europe,  in  Iceland,  Norway,  Denmark, 
Holstein,  on  the  Middle  Rhine,  and  with  another  motive  in  the 
English  ballad  of  William  of  Cloudesly.  There  is  always  a 
skillful  archer  who  is  punished  by  being  made  to  shoot  an 
object  from  his  child's  head,  and  who  in  almost  every  case 
reserves  an  arrow  with  which  to  slay  the  tyrant  in  case  of  fail- 
ure. The  names  of  the  men  and  places  and  the  local  coloring 
of  course  vary  in  the  different  versions,  but  the  structure  of 
the  story  remains  the  same  in  all.  The  one  which  bears  prob- 
ably the  greatest  resemblance  to  that  of  William  Tell  is  to  be 
found  in  a  Danish  history,  Gesta  Danorum,  written  by  Saxo, 
surnamed  Grammaticus,  in  the  twelfth  century.  Here  the 
anecdote  is  told  of  one  Toko,  or  Toki,  and  King  Harald  Blue- 
tooth (936-986).  Making  due  allowance  for  the  great  differ- 
ence between  the  style  of  this  work,  which  is  in  pompous 
Latin,  and  the  rude  and  fresh  dialect  of  "The  White  Book  of 
Sarnen,"  the  resemblance  is  certainly  very  striking. 

Says  Saxo  Grammaticus:  "Nor  ought  what 'follows  to  be 
enveloped  in  silence.  Toko,  who  had  for  some  time  been  in 
the  king's  s'ervice,  had  by  his  deeds,  surpassing  those  of  his 
comrades,  made  enemies  of  his  virtues.  One  day,  when  he 
had  drunk  too  much,  he  boasted  to  those  who  sat  at  table  with 
him  that  his  skill  in  archery  was  such  that  with  the  first 
shot  of  an  arrow  he  could  hit  the  smallest  apple  set  on  the  top 
of  a  stick  at  a  considerable  distance.  His  detractors,  hearing 
this,  lost  no  time  in  conveying  what  he  had  said  to  the  king. 
But  the  wickedness  of  this  monarch  soon  transformed  the  con- 
fidence of  the  father  to  the  jeopardy  of  the  son ;  for  he  ordered 
the  dearest  pledge  of  his  life  to  stand  in  place  of  the  stick, 


THE  LEGEND    OF    WILLIAM  TELL.  99 

from  whom  if  the  utterer  of  the  boast  did  not  at  his  first  shot 
strike  down  the  apple,  he  should  with  his  head  pay  the  penalty 
of  having  made  an  idle  boast.  The  command  of  the  king 
urged  the  soldier  to  do  this,  which  was  so  much  more  than  he 
had  undertaken,  the  detracting  artifices  of  the  others  having 
taken  advantage  of  words  spoken  when  he  was  hardly  sober. 
As  soon  as  the  boy  was  led  forward,  Toko  carefully  admon- 
ished him  to  receive  the  whir  of  the  arrow  as  calmly  as  possi- 
ble, with  attentive  ears,  and  without  moving  his  head,  lest  by 
a  slight  motion  of  the  body  he  should  frustrate  the  experience- 
of  his  well-tried  skill.  He  also  made  him  stand  with  his  back 
toward  him,  lest  he  should  be  frightened  at  the  sight  of  the 
arrow.  Then  he  drew  three  arrows  from  his  quiver,  and  the 
very  first  he  shot  struck  the  proposed  mark.  Toko  being 
asked  by  the  king  why  he  had  so  many  more  arrows  out  of  his 
quiver,  when  he  was  to  make  but  one  trial  with  his  bow,  *  That 
I  might  avenge  on  thee,'  he  replied,  'the  error  of  the  first  by 
the  points  of  the  others,  lest  my  innocence  might  happen  to 
be  afflicted  and  thy  injustice  go  unpunished.'"1  Afterward, 
during  a  rebellion  of  the  Danes  against  Harald,  Toko  slays 
him  with  an  arrow  in  a  forest. 

Observe,  also,  the  truly  remarkable  likeness  of  the  old  Eng- 
lish ballad  of  William  of  Cloudesly  to  the  "  Song  of  the  Origin 
of  the  Confederation,"  both  as  regards  sense  and  style.  I 
quote  a  few  of  the  more  striking  verses  only,  in  order  not  to 
weary  the  reader  with  continual  repetitions : 

" '  I  haue  a  sonne  is  seuen  yere  olde  ; 

He  is  to  me  full  deare ; 
I  wyll  hym  tye  to  a  stake, 
All  shall  see  that  be  here ; 

" '  And  lay  an  apple  vpon  hys  head, 

And  go  syxe  score  paces  hym  fro, 
And  I  my  self e,  with  a  brode  arow, 
Shall  cleue  the  apple  in  two.' 


1  Baring-Gould,  S.     Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages.    p.  113. 


100  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

"  And  bound  therto  his  eldest  sonne, 
And  bad  hym  stande  styll  thereat, 
And  turned  the  childe's  face  fro  him, 
Because  he  shuld  not  sterte. 

"  Thus  Clowdesle  clefte  the  apple  in  two, 

That  many  a  man  it  se ; 
'  Ouer  goddes  forbode,'  sayed  the  kynge, 
'  That  thou  sholdest  shote  at  me  I '" l 

Two  explanations  are  possible  in  view  of  this  similarity: 
either  the  author  of  the  ballad  of  Tell  and  the  notary  of  Sar- 
nen  copied  the  account  of  Saxo  Grammaticus,  written  three 
centuries  before,  at  the  same  time  making  them  conform  to 
Swiss  surroundings,  or  the  Danish  and  Swiss  writers  simply 
put  down  a  legend  current  amongst  their  own  people,  derived 
from  some  common,  older  source,  from  which  proceeded  also 
the  Icelandic,  Norwegian  and  other  versions.  This  latter  solu- 
tion seems  to  me  preferable.  Northern  Switzerland  was 
invaded  by  the  German  tribe  of  the  Alamanni  at  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  and  the  present  Cantons  of  Uri,  Schwiz 
and  Unterwalden  were  colonized  by  them  somewhat  later. 
William  Tell  is  probably  the  Alamannian  counterpart  of  Toko, 
the  Dane.  Moreover,  both  the  ballad  and  The  White  Book 
reveal  the  ring  of  genuine  folk-lore;  they  do  not  betray  the 
touch  of  the  copyist ;  so  that  we  need  not  necessarily  ques- 
tion the  good  faith  of  the  men  who  wrote  them  down.  But 
whatever  explanation  be  accepted,  it  is  now  established  that 
William  Tell  is  no  more  exclusively  Swiss  than  he  is  Icelandic. 

If,  now,  we  examine  the  different  parts  of  the  legend  itself, 
to  see  if  we  cannot  establish  its  historical  value  from  internal 
evidence,  we  shall  find  our  task  still  more  discouraging.  All 
the  arguments  put  forward  by  the  partisans  of  Tell  have  been 
found  to  fail  upon  closer  scrutiny. 

Certainly  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  if  the  great 
archer  had  once  lived  in  the  Forest  Cantons  his  name  would 
be  found  in  some  of  the  ancient  records,  but  the  most  minute 

1  Child's  The  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads,  Part  V.,  p.  29. 


THE  LEGEND    OF   WILLIAM  TELL.  101 

search  in  the  archives  of  the  three  cantons  has  failed  to  show 
that  such  a  man  as  Thall,  Tall,  or  William  Tell  ever  existed. 
In  the  midst  of  the  controversy  upon  this  question  which  broke 
Out  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  a  Johann  Imhof,  vicar 
of  Schaddorf,  a  village  adjoining  Burglen,  the  traditional 
birthplace  of  Tell,  searched  diligently  for  proofs  of  his  exist- 
ence. He  announced  that  he  had  discovered  the  name  in  two 
places :  in  the  burial  register  (Jahrzeitbuch)  of  his  own  parish, 
and  again  in  the  parsonage  book  (PfarrbucJt)  of  the  neighbor- 
ing village  of  Attinghausen.  Investigation  has  revealed  that, 
of  these  two  entries,  one  had  been  wrongly  read,  the  other  had 
been  tampered  with.  In  the  first  case  de  Tello  was  really  de 
Trullo,  and  in  the  second  Tall,  originally  Nail.1  Imhof  also 
cited  documents,  as  well  as  Balthazer  in  his  Defense  de  Guil- 
laume  Tell ;  but  upon  examination  these  supposed  proofs  failed 
utterly,  and  only  harmed  the  cause  they  were  intended  to  sus- 
tain. They  consist  of  quotations  from  well-known  chronicles, 
which  date  from  a  time  when  the  tradition  was  already  fully 
developed,  or  of  documents  bearing  the  strongest  internal  evi- 
dence of  forgery. 

Nor  can  the  pilgrimages  which  are  held  in  his  memory,  the 
Tell's  Chapels,  or  other  local  features,  which  are  shown  to  trav- 
elers at  Altdorf  and  Burglen,  be  regarded  as  testifying  to  his 
existence,  since,  like  the  chronicles,  they  either  date  from  a 
time  when  the  tradition  was  fully  developed,  or  have  been 
found  to  be  connected  with  altogether  different  circumstances. 
The  famous  chapel  on  the  Lake  of  Luzern  seems  to  have 
been  originally  designed  for  the  use  of  fishermen ;  the  one  at 
the  Hohle  Gasse,  near  Kussnacht,  is  first  mentioned  in  I57°> 
and  the  one  at  Burglen  in  1582,  long  after  the  chroniclers  had 
fixed  the  legend  upon  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  people. 

The  supposed  site  of  the  William  Tell  episode  at  Altdorf  is 
in  the  centre  of  the  village,  not  far  from  the  market-place. 

From  this  spot  Tell  is  reported  to  have  shot  the  arrow,  while 
his  little  son  stood  just  beyond,  under  an  ancient  lime-tree. 
This  tree,  having  withered  and  died,  was  cut  down  in  1569  by 

1Rilliet,  A.     Origines.     pp.  315-316. 


102  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

a  certain  Besler,  magistrate  of  the  village  (Dorfvogt),  and  a 
fountain  erected  in  its  stead,  which  now  stands  there  sur- 
mounted by  a  rude  statue  of  Besler  himself.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  lime-tree  is  historical,  for  we  know  that  assizes  were 
held  under  it,  and  sentences  signed  as  having  been  pronounced 
"under  the  lime-tree  at  Altdorf";  but  of  course  all  this  does 
not  bear  upon  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  Tell  tradition,  since 
chroniclers,  if  they  chose  to  adorn  their  tale,  would  naturally 
select  genuine  local  features. 

Near  by  rises  a  tower,  at  one  time  pronounced  to  be  over 
the  place  where  the  boy  stood,  but  now  known  to  be  much 
older  than  the  period  in  which  William  Tell  is  said  to  have 
lived  ;  that  is,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century.  It 
was  probably  the  seat  of  a  mayor  who  collected  tithes  for  the 
Abbey  of  Nuns  (Fraumunster)  in  Zurich,  to  which  institution 
the  greater  part  of  the  present  Canton  of  Uri  at  one  time 
belonged.  Even  that  highly  picturesque  incident,  the  setting 
of  a  hat  upon  a  pole,  a  feature  peculiar  to  the  Swiss  version  of 
the  legend,  so  far  as  is  known  is  susceptible  of  a  perfectly 
natural  historical  explanation.  The  historian  Meyer  von  Kno- 
nau,  noticing  that  a  hat  figures  in  his  own  family  coat  of  arms, 
and  in  those  of  many  other  families  whose  name  is  Meyer,  has 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  setting  up  of  the  mayor's  hat 
was  a  regular  custom  at  the  Altdorf  assizes,  and  that  what  is 
represented  in  the  legend  as  the  whim  of  a  tyrant  was  in  real- 
ity a  well-established  official  procedure. 

Not  to  protract  this  argument  to  tedious  length,  I  will 
merely  cite  one  more  proof  of  the  flimsiness  of  the  structure 
upon  which  the  whole  story  rests.  We  now  know  that  the 
role  ascribed  to  the  bailiff  Gessler  is  an  historical  impossibil- 
ity. The  history  of  the  Gessler  family  has  been  written  by 
an  untiring  investigator,  Rochholz,  who  has  brought  together 
from  every  conceivable  source  the  documents  which  bear  upon 
the  subject.  From  his  investigations  it  results  that  no  mem- 
iber  of  that  family  is  mentioned  as  holding  any  office  whatso- 
Wer  in  the  three  cantons,  or  as  being  murdered  by  a  man 


THE  LEGEND    OF    WILLIAM  TELL.  103 

Thall,  Tall,  or  William  Tell.  It  is  contrary  to  all  contempo- 
rary documents  to  suppose  that  an  Austrian  bailiff  ruled  over 
Uri  after  1231,  or  that  such  a  one  would  have  owned  the  cas- 
tle of  Kiissnacht,  the  history  of  which  property  has  been  care- 
fully traced,  and  which  was  in  the  hands  of  its  true  owners, 
the  Knights  of  Kiissinach,  at  the  time  when  Gessler  is  reported 
to  have  made  it  his  residence. 

The  fact  is,  that  in  Gessler  we  are  confronted  by  a  curious 
case  of  confusion  in  identity.  At  least  three  totally  different 
men  seem  to  have  been  blended  into  one  in  the  course  of  an 
attempt  to  reconcile  the  different  versions  of  the  three  can- 
tons. Felix  Hemmerlin,  of  Zurich,  in  1450  tells  of  a  Habs- 
burg  governor  living  on  the  little  island  of  Schwanau,  in  the 
Lake  of  Lowerz,  who  seduced  a  maid  of  Schwiz  and  was  killed 
by  her  brothers.  Then  there  was  another  person,  strictly  his- 
torical, Knight  Eppo  of  Kiissinach  (Kiissnacht),  who,  while 
acting  as  bailiff  for  the  dukes  of  Austria,  put  down  two  revolts 
of  the  inhabitants  in  his  district,  one  in  1284  and  another  in 
1302.  Finally  there  was  the  tyrant  bailiff  mentioned  in  the 
ballad  of  Tell,  whom,  by  the  way,  a  chronicler  writing  in  1510 
calls,  not  Gessler,  but  the  Count  of  Seedorf.  These  three  per- 
sons were  combined,  and  the  result  was  named  Gessler. 

To  trace  the  legend  to  a  mythical  source  and  to  reveal  its 
inconsistencies  is  simple  enough,  but  to  explain  the  historical 
application  which  has  been  made  of  it,  is  quite  another  matter. 
If  William  Tell  is  a  hero  of  a  widespread  Germanic  myth,  how 
came  he  to  be  connected  with  the  history  of  Switzerland  at 
all  ?  Why  has  not  tradition  handed  down  as  founder  of  the 
Confederation  one  of  those  active  patriots  who  are  known  to 
have  lived  and  labored  for  Swiss  freedom  —  men  like  Stou- 
pacher  (Stauffacher)  of  Schwiz,  or  Attinghausen  of  Uri? 
Here  lies  the  main  difficulty;  but  an  explanation  even  of  this 
is  at  hand,  which  on  the  whole  satisfies  the  peculiar  conditions 
of  the  problem. 

When  the  Song  and  The  White  Book  appeared  at  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Swiss  Confederates  stood  at  the 


104          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

very  apex  of   their  military  glory,   having  just  completed   a 
series  of  great  victories  by  defeating  in  three  pitched  battles 
the  richest  prince  in  Europe,  Charles  the  Bold  of  Burgundy. 
Filled  with  a  spirit  of  patriotic  exaltation,  they  turned  to 

I  magnify  their  national  origin,  as  is  the  wont  of  all  nations 
when  they  rise  to  importance.  But  each  of  the  three  districts 
which  had  united  to  form  the  nucleus-  of  the  Confederation, 
Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden,  tried  to  secure  for  itself  as 
much  credit  as  possible  in  the  founding  of  it,  thus  giving  rise 
to  a  variety  of  versions.  Schwiz  supplied  the  story  of  a  cer- 
tain genuinely  historical  personage,  Stoupaeher;  Unterwalden, 
that  of  a  youth  designated  as  living  in  the  Melchi,  near  Sarnen, 
and  arbitrarily  named  Melchthal  by  later  writers;  and  Uri 
attempted  to  turn  to  political  account  a  legendary  William 
Tell,  an  old  favorite  amongst  the  people  of  that  district.  The 
notary  of  Sarnen  collected  these  stories,  and  did  his  best  to 

.  give  each  of  the  three  lands  an  equal  share  in  the  founding  of 
the  Confederation.  In  time  the  mythical  hero  distanced  his 
rivals  in  popular  favor,  perhaps  for  the  very  reason  that  he  was 
mythical  and  his  family  unknown  in  those  parts,  a  sort  of 
"dark  horse"  upon  whom  the  jealous  claimants  could  unite. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OTHER   LEGENDS. 

IT  is  somewhat  strange  that  the  legend  of  William  Tell 
should  be  the  only  one,  amongst  those  surrounding  the 
origin  of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  in  which  there  does  not 
seem  to  be  the  faintest  trace  of  historical  truth.  None  of 
the  others  contained  in  the  "White  Book  of  Sarnen,"  can  be  re- 
jected as  absolutely  devoid  of  probable  facts.  Taken  together 
they  present  a  picture  of  the  times' which,  though  by  no  means 
accurate,  deserves  to  be  considered  in  connection  with  the 
study  of  mere  matter-of-fact  documents,  for  in  the  latter,  what 
we  may  term  the  human  side  of  the  question,  is  apt  to  receive 
scanty  justice. 

These  legends  also  have  a  certain  literary  quality  of  their 
own.  They  are  medieval,  childlike  and  savor  of  the  soil  to  a 
remarkable  degree.  "  Now  at  Sarnen  a  von  Landenberg  was 
bailiff  in  the  name  of  the  empire.  He  heard  that  there  was 
one  in  the  Melchi  who  had  a  fine  yoke  of  oxen.  Then  the 
lord  went  thither,  and  sent  one  of  his  servants,  and  had  the 
oxen  unyoked  and  brought  to  him,  and  had  the  poor  man  told, 
peasants  must  draw  the  plow  [themselves],  and  he  wanted  to 
have  the  oxen.  The  servant  did  as  the  lord  had  bid  him,  and 
went  thither,  and  wanted  to  unyoke  the  oxen,  and  drive  them 
to  Sarnen.  Now  the  poor  man  had  a  son  who  did  not  like 
this,  and  would  not  let  him  have  the  oxen,  and  when  the  ser- 
vant of  the  lord  laid  hands  upon  the  yoke,  and  wanted  to 
unyoke  the  oxen,  then  he  smote  him  .with  the  oxgoad,  and 
broke  a  finger  of  the  lord's  servant.  The  servant  was  hurt, 
and  ran  home,  and  complained  to  his  lord  of  how  he  had  fared. 

105 


106          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

The  lord  was  angry,  and  wanted  to  punish  the  other  one.  So 
he  had  to  flee;  the  lord  sent  for  his  father  and  had  him 
brought  to  Sarnen  to  his  house,  and  put  out  his  eyes  and  took 
from  him  what  he  had  and  did  him  much  harm. 

"  In  those  days  there  was  an  upright  man  in  Alzellen  who  had 
a  pretty  wife,  and  he  who  was  lord  there  at  the  time  wanted  to 
have  the  woman,  whether  she  would  or  not.  The  lord  came 
to  Alzellen  into  her  house;  the  husband  was  in  the  forest. 
The  lord  forced  the  woman  to  make  ready  a  bath  for  him,  and 
said  she  must  bathe  with  him.  The  woman  prayed  God  to 
keep  her  from  shame,  and  thought  to  herself:  God  never 
leaves  his  people  who  call  upon  Him  in  need.  The  husband 
came  in  the  meantime,  and  asked  her  what  ailed  her.  She 
spake:  'The  lord  is  here  and  forced  me  to  make  ready  a  bath 
for  him.'  The  husband  grew  angry,  and  went  in  and  smote 
the  lord  to  death  in  that  hour  with  an  axe,  and  delivered  his 
wife  from  shame. 

"  In  those  same  days  there  was  a  man  in  Swiz  [Schwiz],  called 
Stoupacher  [Stauffacher]  who  lived  at  Steinen,  this  side  the 
bridge ;  he  had  built  a  pretty  stone  house.  Now  at  that  time 
a  Gesler  [Gessler]  was  bailiff  there,  in  the  name  of  the 
empire;  he  came  one  day,  and  rode  by  there,  and  called  to 
Stoupacher,  and  asked  him,  whose  the  pretty  dwelling  was. 
Stoupacher  answered  him  and  spake  sadly :  '  Gracious  lord,  it 
is  yours  and  mine  in  fief,'  and  dared  not  say  it  was  his,  so 
greatly  did  he  fear  the  lord.  The  lord  rode  away.  Now 
Stoupacher  was  a  wise  man  and  well  to  do.  He  had  also  a 
wise  wife,  and  thought  over  the  matter,  and  had  great  grief, 
and  was  full  of  fear  before  the  lord,  lest  he  should  take  his  life 
and  his  goods  from  him.  His  wife,  she  noticed  it  and  did  as 
women  do,  and  would  like  to  have  known  what  was  the  mat- 
ter with  him,  or  why  he  was  sad;  but  he  denied  her  that. 
At  last  she  overwhelmed  him  with  great  entreaty,  that  he 
might  let  her  know  his  matter,  and  spake :  '  Be  so  good  and 
tell  me  thy  need ;  although  it  is  said,  women  give  cold  coun 
sels,  who  knows  what  God  will  do?'  She  begged  him  so 


OTHER  LEGENDS.  107 

often  in  her  trusting  way,  that  he  told  her  what  his  grief  was. 
She  went  and  strengthened  him  with  words  and  spake : 
'  There'll  be  some  good  plan,'  and  asked  him  if  he  knew  any 
one  in  Ure  [Uri]  who  was  so  trusted  by  him  that  he  might 
confide  his  need  to  him,  and  told  him  of  the  family  of  Fiirst 
and  of  zer  Fraowen  [Zur  Frauen].  He  answered  her  and 
spake  :  *  Yea,  he  knew  them  well,  and  thought  about  the  coun- 
sel of  his  wife,  and  went  to  Ure,  and  stayed  there,  until  he 
found  one  who  had  also  a  like  grief.  She  had  also  bid  him 
ask  in  Unterwalden ;  for  she  thought,  there  were  people  there 
also,  who  did  not  like  such  tyranny. 

"Now  the  poor  man's  son  had  fled  from  Unterwalden  and 
was  nowhere  safe,  he  who  had  smitten  in  twain  the  finger  of 
the  servant  of  von  Landenberg  with  the  oxgoad ;  for  which  his 
father  had  been  blinded  by  the  lord,  and  he  felt  sorry  for  his 
father,  and  he  would  have  liked  to  avenge  him.  That  one  also 
came  to  Stoupacher,  and  so  there  came  three  of  them  together, 
Stoupacher  of  Schwitz  [Schwiz],  and  one  of  the  Fiirsts  of  Ure, 
and  he  from  Melche  in  Unterwalden,  and  each  confided  his 
need  and  grief  to  the  other,  and  took  counsel,  and  they  took 
an  oath  together.  And  when  the  three  had  sworn  to  each 
other,  then  they  sought  and  found  one  from  nid  dent  wald 
[Nidwalden]  he  also  swore  with  them,  and  they  found  now  and 
again  secretly  men  whom  they  drew  to  themselves,  and  swore 
to  each  other  faith  and  truth,  both  to  risk  life  and  goods,  and 
to  defend  themselves  against  the  lords,  and  when  they  wanted 
to  do  and  undertake  anything,  they  went  by  the  Myten  Stein 
at  night  to  a  place  [which]  is  called/;^  Riidli  (Riitli).  There 
they  met  together  and  each  one  of  them  brought  men  with 
him,  in  whom  they  could  trust,  and  continued  that  some  time 
and  met  nowhere  else  in  those  days,  save  in  the  Riidli."1 

The  White  Book  goes  on  to  relate  that  Stoupacher's  com- 
pany grew  so  strong  that  they  went  about,  destroying  the 
castles  of  the  lords ;  a  tower  below  Amsteg,  Twing  Uren 
(Zwing  Uri)  by  name,  Swandow  (Schwandau)  in  Schwiz,  Rotz- 
berg  in  Nidwalden,  and  finally  the  castle  at  Sarnen  in  Obwal- 

1  Dandliker,  K.    Geschichte.    Vol.  I.,  p.  637.  *  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.     p.  64. 


108          THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

den,  the  storming  of  which  is  told  in  a  graphic  manner,  with 
many  bits  of  local  interest.  When  the  bailiffs  had  been 
expelled  the  three  lands  made  a  league  and  held  their  meet- 
ings at  Begkenriet  (Beckenried).  The  account  then  passes 
on  to  describe  Luzern's  entry  into  the  Confederation  without 
mentioning  the  decisive  battle  of  Morgarten. 

The  whole  of  this  narrative  -cannot  be  mere  invention. 
There  are  great  inaccuracies,  but  there  are  no  irreconcilable 
inconsistencies,  as  in  the  legend  of  William  Tell. 

Two  noblemen,  vassals  of  Habsburg,  both  named  Herrmann 
von  der  hohen  Landenburg,  are  known  to  have  lived  in  the 
reigns  of  Rudolf  and  Albrecht,  although  there  is  no  record  of 
their  having  had  any  connection  with  the  Forest  States.  As 
for  Stauffacher,  that  is  the  name  of  a  family  which  was  promi- 
nent in  the  affairs  of  Schwiz  for  several  generations,  as  will  be 
shown  later.  Fiirst  and  Zur  Frauen  were  historical  families  of 
Uri.  There  is  no  evidence  either  for  or  against  the  existence 
of  the  peasant  from  the  Melchi  in  Obwalden,  or  the  virtuous 
wife  in  Alzellen.  Contemporary  documents  are  also  silent 
concerning  the  castle  of  Zwing  Uri,  but  judging  from  the 
scanty  ruins  which  may  still  be  seen  on  a  hillock  near  the 
entrance  to  the  Maderaner  Thai,  it  must  have  been  a  simple 
tower,  similar  to  those  of  the  Mayors  of  the  nunnery  of  Zurich 
situated  at  Altdorf,  Biirglen,  Silenen  and  Erstfeld.  The  same 
uncertainty  reigns  in  connection  with  the  ruins  on  the  island 
in  the  lake  of  Lowerz;  it  has  not  yet  been  ascertained 
whether  they  were  those  of  a  nobleman's  castle,  or  formed 
part  of  the  fortifications,  erected  by  the  men  of  Schwiz  before 
the  battle  of  Morgarten. 

As  regards  the  oath  on  the  Riitli,  there  is  no  likelihood  that 
it  took  place  in  1291,  for  there  was  at  that  time  no  motive  for 
secrecy.  On  the  other  hand,  Swiss  critical  scholars  are  inclined 
to  relegate  this  midnight  conspiracy,  along  with  the  story  of 
Stauffacher  and  of  the  storming  of  the  castle  at  Sarnen,  to  an 
fearlier  period.  If  there  be  any  truth  at  all  in  the  above  men- 
tioned incidents,  they  belong  more  properly  to  that  early  stage 


OTHER  LEGENDS.  109 

\in  the  struggle  for  independence  which  took  place  about  1245, 
when  the  Pope  found  it  necessary  to  issue  a  warning  to  the 
men  of  Schwiz  and  Sarnen  to  return  to  their  allegiance  to 
Count  Rudolf  Habsburg.  The  very  situation  of  the  Riitli 
marks  it  as  the  likely  scene  of  secret  meetings.  For  who  that 
has  visited  the  spot  can  have  failed  to  notice  how  wonderfully 
it  is  adapted  for  such  purposes  ?  At  once  central  for  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Forest  States,  and  yet  secluded  to  a  remark- 
able degree,  it  possesses  in  reality  all  the  requirements  of  an 
ideal  trysting-place. 

As  subsequent  historians  based  their  accounts  almost  exclu- 
sively upon  the  "White  Book  of  Sarnen,"  it  is  not  necessary  to 
examine  their  work  in  detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  supply  the  persons  with  names  and  the  events 
with  dates,  whenever  these  were  needed.  The  traditions  found 
their  best  exponent  in  Giles  (Aegidius)  Tschudi  of  Glarus, 
from  whom  in  turn  Schiller  derived  most  of  the  material  for 
his  play. 

The  true  explanation  of  the  legends,  which  surround  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  seems  to  be  somewhat  as 
follows : 

All  nations  when  they  have  risen  to  importance  begin  to 
speculate  about  their  origin.  Obscure  local  events,  connected 
superficially  with  the  struggle  for  independence,  appeal  to 
popular  imagination  and  become  traditions.  These  are  col- 
lected and  fitted  together  so  as  to  produce  one  continuous  nar- 
rative, which  shall  sound  reasonable  and  satisfy  patriotic  pride. 
But,  of  course,  the  longer  this  task  has  been  delayed,  and  the 
more  remote  the  national  origin,  the  greater  the  obscurity 
which  surrounds  these  traditions,  and  the  more  numerous  the 
inaccuracies  which  have  crept  into  them.  For  unwritten  his- 
tory soon  loses  its  original  purity  in  being  transmitted  from 
father  to  son,  so  when  finally  put  down  in  writing,  it  no  longer 
represents  events  as  they  have  actually  taken  place,  but  as 
the  people  have  learned  to  imagine  them.  The  long  conflict 
against  Habsburg  was  concentrated  into  a  short  space  of  time ; 


110  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  multitudes,  who  took  part  in  it,  symbolized  by  a  handful  of 
determined  men ;  and  the  Swiss  nation  was  made  to  result 
from  a  sudden  upheaval. 

The  history  of  the  early  Swiss  is  more  than  picturesque,  it 
is  instructive.  The  chroniclers  need  not  have  resorted  to 
legends  of  doubtful  origin  in  order  to  invest  the  rise  of  their 
Confederation  with  the  interest  it-  ought  always  to  have  com- 
manded. In  attempting  this  they  rather  obscured  than  dis^ 
played  the  qualities  which  made  their  ancestors  worthy  of  our 
admiration,  and  pressed  into  the  background  those  features  of 
Swiss  history  which  best  deserve  to  be  studied.  The  chroni- 
clers would  have  us  believe  that  the  sacred  flame  of  liberty  was 
kindled  by  the  whim  of  a  petty  tyrant,  the  liberation  of  the 
people  effected  by  murder ;  they  would  make  the  origin  of  the 
oldest  feudal  republic  in  existence  depend  upon  a  trick,  upon 
the  chances  of  an  arrow  in  its  flight,  when  in  reality  it  is  •* 
based  upon  the  eternal  laws  of  the  brotherhood  of  man ;  they 
would  represent  as  fortuitous,  abnormal,  and  sudden,  wliat  was 
eminently  deliberate,  lawful,  and  long  drawn  through  centur- 
ies of  strife  and  struggle. 

Nothing  could  have  been   more  heroic  than  the  ceaseless  , 
resistance  of  the  patriots  in  Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden  to 
the  encroachments  of  Habsburg,  or  more  admirable  than  the 
patient  wisdom  with  which  they  finally  won  their  independence. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  SWISS  CONFEDERATION  COMPARED  WITH 
THAT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

T1ISTORICAL  analogies  are  apt  to  be  misleading  because 
1  1  exactly  the  same  conditions  can  never  be  reproduced  in 
different  countries  and  at  different  periods.  At  the  same 
time  the  lessons  to  be  learned  by  the  comparative  method  of 
study  are  so  manifold,  that  they  cannot  well  be  neglected  with- 
out serious  injury  to  the  subject  under  consideration. 

Peculiar  interest  must  attach  to  the  origin  of  the  two  most 
successful  systems  of  federalism  in  modern  times.  A  judi- 
ciously conducted  comparison  between  the  forces  which  led  to 
their  founding,  and  their  subsequent  growth  into  independent 
free  states,  cannot  fail  to  be  of  value  to  the  student,  especially 
when  the  truly  marvelous  resemblance  between  their  present 
organizations  is  duly  appreciated. 

In  reality  the  main  difference  to  be  noted  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
United  States,  is  one  of  time  rather  than  of  manner.  The 
growth  of  the  former  from  a  loose  aggregation  of  states  into  a 
firm  federal  body,  has  been  spread  over  the  better  part  of  six 
centuries,  while  that  of  the  United  States  has  been  compressed 
into  little  more  than  two  centuries  and  a  half.  On  the  other 
hand  there  are  moments  in  the  history  of  both  countries,  nota- 
bly in  their  constitutional  progress,  which  are  so  nearly  alike, 
that  they  may  well  be  placed  opposite  each  other  in  parallel 
columns  of  development. 

The  Alamannian  tribes,  which  invaded  Switzerland  and 

111 


112  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

later  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Confederation,  found  what  was 
practically  virgin  soil  for  their  Teutonic  institutions.  They 
themselves  were  almost  entirely  free  from  the  influence  of 
Latin  civilization,  and  the  few  Celto-Roman  Helvetii,  whom 
they  encountered  upon  taking  possession  of  the  country,  they 
promptly  reduced  to  slavery.  There  was  nothing  to  disturb 
the  essentially  Teutonic  character  of  their  civilization.  Very 
much  the  same  set  of  conditions  obtained  in  England  at  the 
time  of  the  Saxon  invasion,  so  that  Teutonic  institutions  took 
root  and  flourished  in  those  two  countries,  and  preserved  their 
primitive  purity  as  nowhere  else. 

When  in  the  course  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  the 
descendants  of  the  original  Alamannian  settlers  colonized  the 
Forest  States,  and  the  descendants  of  the  Saxon  invaders 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  people  the  American  coast,  each  group 
of  emigrants  was  able  to  transplant  the  rudiments  of  ancient 
Teutonic  institutions  to  fresh  soil,  in  much  the  same  form  as 
they  had  originally  received  them  from  their  ancestors.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  therefore,  the  Celtic  Helvetii  had  as  little  to 
do  with  founding  the  Swiss  Confederation  as  had  the  Red 
Indians  to  do  with  the  formation  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  (The  organization  of  both  these  confederated  states 
was  essentially  Teutonic  in  conception  and  application.  Even 
the  manner  in  which  the  colonization  of  the  Forest  States  was 
effected  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  that  of  New  England. 
The  majority  of  the  settlers  were  sent  out  by  great  ecclesias- 
tical corporations  or  by  powerful  noblemen,  and  these  may  be 
likened,  for  purposes  of  illustration,  to  those  joint-stock  com- 
panies, the  London  Company  and  the  Plymouth,  and  to  the 
English  noblemen  who  took  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  colo- 
nization of  the  American  coast. 

But  the  English  settlers  had  one  very  appreciable  advant- 
age over  the  Swiss  mountaineers.  (The  task  of  founding  a 
free  state,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word,  was  much  easier 
for  them,  because  when  they  left  England  the  fabric  of  feu- 
dalism was  already  torn,  the  principle  of  the  divine  right  of 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  SWISS   CONFEDERATION.      113 

kings  was  no  longer  unquestioned.  Their  opportunity  to  rear 
a  state  upon  true  democratic  principles,  upon  an  equality  of 
opportunity  for  all  men  could  not  have  been  better  —  it  has 
never  been  equalled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Indeed,  if 
they  had  succeeded  in  establishing  an  aristocratic,  feudal  soci- 
ety upon  the  American  continent,  their  act  would  have  been 
an  historical  freak,  pure  and  simple,  and  wholly  out  of  the  nat- 
ural order  of  the  world's  development.*-— But  the  struggle  of 
the  early  Swiss  had  first  to  be  directed  against  the  allied  forces 
of  feudalism.  They  bore  the  incubus  of  a  system  of  society 
based  upon  special  privileges  for  the  few.  Their  constant  con- 
flict was  for  democracy  in  an  age  encumbered  with  the  para- 
phernalia of  medievalism,  and  their  ultimate  victory  for  popu- 
lar rights  was  as  wonderful  in  itself,  considering  the  obstacles 
in  their  path,  as  would  have  been  the  triumph  of  feudal  prin- 
ciples in  the  settlements  of  the  English  colonists. 

In  Switzerland  and  in  America  alike,  the  various  states 
acquired  local  self-government  by  different  methods.  They 
grew  into  sovereign  communities  before  they  united  into  a 
federal  body,  remaining  in  subjection  to  a  distant  supreme 
power  —  the  Forest  States  to  the  head  of  the  German  Empire, 
and  the  American  Colonists  to  the  King  of  England.  In  both 
countries  there  were  charters  issued  by  this  supreme  power, 
which  formed  the  basis  of  later  constitutions  in  conjunction 
with  local  enactments. 

The  first  feudal  constitution  of  the  Swiss  Confederation, 
which  has  come  down  to  us,  is  the  perpetual  league  drawn  up 
by  the  three  communities  of  Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden  in 
1 29 1. L_ In  the  history  of  the  United  States  there  is  a  docu- 
ment which  may  fairly  be  said  to  correspond  to  this.  It  is 
the  Articles  of  Agreement,  framed  in  1643,  by  the  four  colo- 
nies of  Connecticut,  New  Haven,  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts 
Bay.  In  both  cases  the  fear  of  aggression  from  a  common 
enemy  led  to  union.  The  Swiss  mountaineers  were  induced 
to  enter  into  their  league,  in  order  that  they  might  repulse 
the  constant  encroachments  of  Habsburg-Austria,  while  the 


114  THE  RISE    OF   THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

English  settlers  founded  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England 
to  withstand  the  attacks  of  Indian  tribes. 

In  this  connection  the  provisions  of  the  Articles  of  Agree- 
ment are  worthy  of  examination.  We  "  enter  into  a  consocia- 
tion amongst  ourselves,"  say  the  four  colonies,  "for  mutual 
help  and  strength  in  all  future  concernment,  that  as  in  nation 
and  religion,  so  in  other  respects,  we  be  and  continue  one." 
They,  therefore,  establish  a  "firm  and  perpetual  league  of 
friendship  and  amity."  Each  state  shall  retain  its  own  pecu- 
liar form  of  jurisdiction.  "Charges  of  all  just  wars"  shall  be 
borne  by  them  in  certain  fixed  proportions.  Levies  shall  be 
raised  from  each  state  according  to  regulations.  Two  commis- 
sioners from  each  state  shall  meet  to  exercise  carefully  enu- 
merated powers.  And  finally  the  document  asserts  that 
commissioners  from  the  four  states  have  subscribed  to  "this 
perpetual  confederation."  The  American  Articles  of  Agree- 
ment are  somewhat  more  explicit  than  the  Swiss  Perpetual 
League,  they  are  not  quite  as  discoursive,  they  do  not  contain 
as  many  provisions  of  a  purely  judicial  character,  but  in  other 
respects,  they  betray  the  same  untutored,  experimental  qualities 
as  the  Perpetual  League.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  also  that 
the  Colonists  should  have  declared  their  confederation  perpet- 
ual when  this  form  of  phraseology  is  so  comparatively  rare  in 
history. 

Nor  does  the  resemblance  between  these  two  perpetual 
pacts  stop  at  this  point.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  gives 
us  any  reason  to  believe  that  these  primitive  confederations 
harbored  any  aspirations  after  cutting  adrift  from  the  protect- 
ing parent  country.  (&s  a  matter  of  fact,  both  were  eventually 
driven  to  separation,  as  much  by  the  natural  process  of  great 
world  forces,  as  by  their  own  individual  efforts.  When  the, 
Swiss  Confederation  was  formally  and  officially  recognized  as  a 
power  independent  of  the  German  Empire,  at  the  Peace  of 
Westphalia  in  1648,  the  signatory  parties  only  set  their  seal  to 
a  state  of  things  which  had  virtually  existed  since  the  Swabian 
war  in  1499.  And  m  ^e  same  manner  the  Declaration  of 


ORIGIN   OF   THE  SWISS   CONFEDERATION.      115 

Independence,  enunciated  by  the  thirteen  colonies  in  1776,  was 
only  the  world-wide  announcement  of  a  fact  which  had  been 
patent  to  every  investigator  long  before.  As  at  the  present 
moment  the  practical  independence  oi  theTAustralian  colonies 
and  of  Canada  must  be  conceded,  although  those  states  have 
never  actually  severed  their  connection  with  the  mother 
country. 

The  Swiss  Confederation  and  the  United  States  have  each 
in  their  way  contributed  invaluable  services  to  the  cause  of 
federalism.  It  would  be  invidious  to  award  the  palm  to  either. 
CThe  first  seems  to  have  represented  the  principle  in  Europe 
until  the  second  was  ready  to. develop  it  on  purer  lines  in  the 
New  World.  £_For  when  the  United  States  were  founded  the* 
prevalent  conception  of  government  amongst  civilized  nations 
was  that  of  a  highly  centralized  monarchy.  The  Dutch  and 
the  Swiss  Confederations,  it  is  true,  existed,  but  they  had 
grown  to  be  most  unworthy  examples  of  federalism.  Switzer- 
land presented  the  unedifying  spectacle  of  extreme  decentral- 
ization, of  a  disorganized  and  demoralized  conglomeration  of 
sovereign  states,  bereft  of  national  sentiment,  divided  into 
religious  factions,  and  a  prey  to  foreign  intrigue.  The  Nether- 
lands had  been  consolidated  by  the  house  of  Orange  into  a 
centralized  state,  almost  devoid  of  true  federalism.Cjt  was  the 
representative  system  of  England,  in  its  last  analysis  a  species 
of  federalism,  which  the  founders  of  the  United  States  trans- 
planted to  a  new  environment.  Working  at  first  crudely 
and  imperfectly,  but  later  with  a  marvelous  precision,  they 
accomplished  a  practical  revolution  in  the  whole  science  of 
constitutional  government,  ^o-day,  therefore,  the  Swiss  Con- 
federation and  the  United  States  stand  side  by  side  in  friendly 
rivalry  to  demonstrate  the  blessings  of  federalism. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    CONFEDERATES    AGAINST    HABSBURG-AUSTRIA. 

IN  spite  of  the  conservative  tone  which  is  observable  in  the 
text  of  the  first  perpetual  league,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  signing  of  this  instrument  denoted  a  new  departure 
in  the  policy  of  the  Forest  States.  Every  line  breathes  the 
determination  of  the  contracting  parties  to  resist  fresh 
encroachments  upon  the  liberties  they  had  so  far  acquired,  as 
well  as  to  enforce  law  and  order  within  their  boundaries.  No 
disguise  was  made  of  the  fact  that  they  were  committed  to  a 
policy  of  organized  resistance  against  Habsburg. 

The  death  of  Rudolf  was  the  signal  for  a  period  of  confu- 
sion. He  had  made  every  effort  to  secure  the  succession  to 
his  eldest  son,  Albrecht,  but  so  great  was  the  alarm  caused  by 
the  extraordinary  development  of  the  Habsburg  power,  that 
after  the  throne  had  remained  vacant  for  almost  a  year,  it  was 
awarded  to  Count  Adolf  of  Nassau.  The  partisans  of  the  two 
rivals  broke  out  into  open  feud.  In  the  south  of  the  empire 
the  cities  of  Bern  and  Zurich,  with  a  number  of  spiritual  and 
temporal  lords,  united  in  hostility  to  Habsburg,  and  it  was 
this  alliance  which  Uri  and  Schwiz  joined  by  making  a  spe- 
cial compact  with  Zurich  to  last  for  three  years.  Unterwal- 
den  does  not  seem  to  have  felt  strong  enough  to  incur  such 
responsibilities.  Of  this  alliance  we  need  only  say  that  it  was 
not  particularly  successful,  and  fell  apart  before  the  term  had 
expired  for  which  it  had  been  concluded. 

Adolf's  short  reign  is  not  distinguished  in  the  history  of  the 
young  confederation  by  any  event  of  a  startling  nature,  but 
still  it  deserves  to  be  noted  for  the  fact  that,  in  1294,  the  first 

116 


CONFEDERATES  AGAINST  HABSB UEG-A  U STRIA.  Ill 

Landsgemeinde,  or  open-air  legislative  meeting,  of  which  we 
have  any  record,  met  in  Schwiz.  A  decree  promulgated  on 
this  occasion  will  ever  remain  memorable  on  account  of  the 
light  it  throws  upon  the  economic  and  social  conditions  exist- 
ing in  Schwiz  at  this  early  date. 

It  refers  to  the  subject  of  land  tenure.     The  assembled  peo- 
ple of  Schwiz  agree  to  forbid  any  one  to  sell  or  give  land  to 
monasteries^  in  the  valley,  or  to  strangers  dwelling  outside, 
under  pain  of  a  heavy  fine.     All  land  thus  alienated  must  be 
bought  back,  or  else  confiscated  by  the  community.     The  mon-  / 
asteries  must  pay  the  same  taxes  as  all  the  other  members  of 
the  community,  or  else  be  excluded  from  using  the  common  | 
lands,  i.  e.   the  Almend.     The  strangers   must  also  pay  the 
same  taxes ;  nor  can  they  exact  any  compensation  from  their 
tenants  for  this  reason,  or  take  the  land  away  from  them. 

Rough  and  ready  as  these  regulations  undoubtedly  are,  they 
give  evidence  of  great  insight  on  the  part  of  the  rude  peasants. 
They  constitute  a  revolt  against  special  privilege,  against  the 
monopoly  of  land  by  great  ecclesiastical  corporations  and 
absentee  landlords.  They  show  that  the  men  of  Schwiz  felt 
the  pinch  of  land  hunger,  where  land  was  in  plenty,  and  that 
they  were  persuaded  of  the  necessity  for  regulating  its  tenure 
in  such  a  manner,  as  to  give  every  man  an  equal  measure  of 
opportunity  in  the  acquirement  of  wealth. 

The  causes  which  produced  the  revolt  of  the  Forest  States 
against  Habsburg,  and  thereby  called  into  being  a  new  state, 
are  to  a  certain  extent,  shrouded  in  obscurity.  If  they  could 
ever  be  traced  to  their  ultimate,  prime  cause,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  the  great  question  of  land  tenure,  which  hasf 
presided  at  the  rise  and  fall  of  many  another  nation,  would  be 
found  at  the  origin  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  also. 

In  the  midst  of  the  war  between  Adolf  and  Albrecht,  for  the 
latter  had  never  renounced  his  pretensions  to  the  throne,  Uri 
and  Schwiz  succeeded  in  persuading  Adolf  to  ratify  their  char-j 
ters  of  immunity.     But  unfortunately  the  Forest  States  were 
not  destined  to  be  left  long  in  their  enjoyment  of  these  char- 


118          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

ters,  for,  in  1298,  Adolf  lost  his  crown  and  his  life  in  battle 
with  his  rival,  who  was  thereupon  formally  elected  king  in  his 
place. 

One  might  suppose  that  with  Albrecht  of  Habsburg's  acces- 
sion to  the  throne,  the  Forest  States  would  be  made  to  feel 
the  full  resentment  which  their  independent  action  was  calcu- 
lated to  provoke ;  but,  as  it  was,  they  escaped  untouched  for 
more  than  twenty  years. 

The  Swiss  chroniclers  of  the  sixteenth  century  have  stigma- 
tized Albrecht  I.,  of  Germany,  as  a  ferocious  tyrant,  who  in 
order  to  establish  his  personal  power,  sent  despotic  bailiffs  into 
the  Forest  States,  who,  in  their  turn,  behaved  so  arrogantly, 
that  the  inhabitants  were  compelled  to  revolt.  As  a  matter  of 
I  fact  history  does  not  corroborate  these  accusations. 

It  is  true  that  Albrecht  was  every  inch  a  Habsburg,  a  man 
determined  to  extend  the  patrimony  which  his  father  had  left 
him,  and  not  over  scrupulous  in  the  choice  of  means  toward 
the  attainment  of  this  object.  But  there  is  no  evidence  of  his 

(having  appointed  tyrannical  bailiffs,  or  of  having  brought  about 
the  revolt  which  the  chronicles  relate.  Of  course  his  interests 
I  forced  him  to  oppose  the  aspirations  of  the  Forest  States.  He 
refused  to  ratify  the  charters  of  immunity,  possessed  by  Uri 
and  Schwiz.  There  was  also  an  uprising  of  the  people  on  the 
Habsburg  estate  of  Kiissnacht,  directed  against  the  bailiff  of 
the  place,  but  Kiissnacht  did  not,  at  that  time,  belong  to  the 
Forest  States. 

On  the  whole,  an  examination  of  Albrecht's  reign  from 
1298-1308  shows  that  the  Forest  States  were  allowed  to  man- 
age their  own  affairs  as  freely  as  heretofore. 

Uri  was  governed  by  a  native  Landammann,  Knight  Werner 
von  Attinghausen,  during  most  of  this  time,  a  man  who  had 
taken  a  part  hostile  to  Habsburg  in  the  alliance  with  Ziirich. 
In  Schwiz  there  are  several  notices  of  native  Landammanner, 
of  whom  one  was  Rudolf  Stauffacher.  This  patriot  had  made 
himself  especially  odious  to  Habsburg  on  account  of  his  hostil- 
ity to  the  great  land-owning  monasteries  in  Schwiz.  As  early 


CONFEDERATES  AGAINST  HABSBURG-AU STRIA.  119 

as  1275,  during  the  reign  of  Rudolf  L,  Stauffacher  had  per- 
sisted in  demanding  taxes  of  the  nunnery  at  Stein  en,  and 
when  the  latter  refused,  had  taken  a  horse  belonging  to  that 
institution  as  security.  Thereupon  Queen  Anna,  Rudolf's 
wife,  wrote  a  letter  to  Landammann  Stauffacher,  demanding 
the  instant  surrender  of  the  horse  to  the  nuns,  and  their 
exemption  from  taxation.  In  1294  came  the  Landsgemeinde 
decree,  mentioned  above,  and  in  1299,  by  a  curious  coinci- 
dence, Queen  Elizabeth,  Albrecht's  wife,  like  her  predecessor, 
was  constrained  to  write  to  the  Landammann,  of  Schwiz, 
again  demanding  exemption  from  taxation  for  the  nunnery  in 
Steinen.  One  is  inclined  to  suspect  that  this  second  Landam- 
mann, whose  name  is  not  given,  was  in  reality  the  same 
Rudolf  Stauffacher,  to  whom  Queen  Anna  had  once  written 
on  the  same  subject,  and  who  opposed  the  monopoly  of  land. 
Certain  it  is  that  this  patriot  rilled  the  office  of  chief  magis- 
trate in  1304. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  evidence  that  the  liberties  of  the 
Forest  States  were  not  seriously  curtailed  is  supplied  by  the 
fact  that,  during  Albrecht's  reign,  in  1304,  Nidwalden  and 
Obwalden  appear  for  the  first  time  united  under  the  name  of 
Unterwalden,  with  a  Landammann  in  the  person  of  a  certain 
Rudolf  von  Oedisriet. 

It  is  a  question,  however,  whether  these  comparatively 
friendly  relations  could  have  existed  much  longer  between  the 
Habsburg  family  and  the  liberty  loving  peasants  in  Uri, 
Schwiz  and  Unterwalden ;  whether  the  open  hostilities,  which 
broke  out  some  years  later,  would  not  have  shown  themselves 
already  during  Albrecht's  reign,  had  not  an  event  of  the  most 
startling  nature  called  away  attention  from  the  Forest  States 
to  the  wider  interests  of  the  German  Empire  at  large. 

King  Albrecht  was  one  day  riding  toward  his  ancestral  cas- 
tle near  Windisch,  when  he  was  foully  murdered  by  his  ward 
and  nephew,  John,  Duke  of  Austria.  When  the  sensation, 
caused  by  this  deed,  had  somewhat  subsided,  Count  Henry 
of  Luxemburg  was  elected  to  the  throne,  and  once  more,  as  in 


120          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  days  of  Adolf  of  Nassau,  the  supreme  power  had  been 
wrested  from  the  hands  of  Habsburg  in  time  to  avert  a  conflict 
with  the  Forest  States. 

Henry  VII.  confirmed  the  charters  of  Uri  and  Schwiz,  and 
issued  one  to  Unterwalden,  which  is  the  first  official  recogni- 
tion of  the  immunity  of  that  state,  known  to  historians.  These 
royal  acts  were  in  themselves  sufficiently  hostile  to  Habsburg, 
but  Henry  also  appointed  an  imperial  bailiff  to  govern  the 
three  States  conjointly,  thus  taking  them  from  the  stewardship 
of  Habsburg,  and  placing  them  directly  under  his  own  care. 

The  Dukes  Frederic  and  Leopold,  Albrecht's  sons,  were 
engaged  for  the  time  being  in  waging  a  war  of  extermination 
against  the  murderer  of  their  father  and  his  accomplices.  Only 
one  of  the  conspirators  fell  into  their  hands,  a  certain  Rudolf 
von  Wart,  perhaps  the  least  culpable  of  all.  He  was  put  to 
death  amid  frightful  tortures  upon  the  scene  of  the  murder, 
where  Queen  Elizabeth  thereupon  founded  the  nunnery  of 
Konigsfelden,  as  a  memorial  to  her  husband. 

This  awful  task  accomplished,  Duke  Leopold,  to  whose  share 
the  Habsburg  possessions  in  the  West  had  fallen,  turned  his 
attention  to  the  Forest  States,  where  his  interests  were  in  a 
condition  to  awaken  his  worst  apprehensions.  He  obtained  an 
assurance  from  Henry  VII.  that  an  exhaustive  examination 
would  be  made  of  Habsburg's  rights  in  the  Forest  States. 
Fortunately  for  these  communities,  however,  Henry  died  in 
1313,  before  the  promised  inquiry  could  be  made,  and  the  sub- 
ject was  pressed  into  the  background  by  the  difficulties  experi- 
enced in  finding  a  successor  to  the  crown.  It  was  during  the 
long  contest,  which  now  ensued  between  Dukes  Ludwig  of 
Upper  Bavaria  and  Frederic  of  Austria,  the  two  claimants  to 
the  succession,  that  the  final  revolt  of  the  Forest  States  against \ 
Habsburg  was  destined  to  take  place. 

It  is  impossible  to  judge  how  much  longer  the  conflict  might 
have  been  averted,  had  not  the  men  of  Schwiz  committed  an; 
outrage  upon  the  neighboring  Abbey  of  Einsiedeln,  an  institu-.* 
tion  which  was  under  the  stewardship  of  Habsburg.      In  the 


CONFEDERATES  AGAINST  HABSBURG-AU STRIA.  121 

night  of  the  6th  of  January,  1314,  a  marauding  band  from 
Schwiz,  under  the  leadership  of  Landammann  Werner  Stauf- 
facher  attacked  the  monastery,  took  the  sleeping  monks  pris- 
oners, penetrated  into  the  cellars,  broke  open  the  doors  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  in  drunken  fury  overthrew  the  ornaments,  treas- 
ures, vessels,  vestments  and  relics.  At  daybreak  they  departed 
with  their  prisoners,  and  the  cattle  they  had  found  on  the  place. 
The  story  of  this  raid  has  been  told  in  a  Latin  poem,  the  Cap- 
pella  Heremitarium,1  by  one  of  the  suffering  monks.  It  reflects 
but  little  credit  upon  the  men  of  Schwiz.  At  the  same  time 
the  causes  which  led  up  to  this  outrage  are  not  sufficiently 
known  to  make  a  fair  judgment  possible.  There  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  those  periodic  quarrels  with  the  monks  about  the 
Almend,  and  the  men  of  Schwiz  seem  to  have  been  exasperated 
beyond  endurance  at  the  infringement  on  their  rights.  Only 
a  few  years  before,  the  bishop  of  Constance,  in  whose  see  the 
Forest  States  were  situated,  had  launched  a  decree  of  excom- 
munication against  the  men  of  Schwiz,  in  consequence  of  con- 
stant complaints  on  the  part  of  Einsiedeln,  so  that  the  rela- 
tions between  the  peasants  and  the  monks  were  decidedly 
strained.  One  point,  however,  is  clear,  and  that  is,  that  the 
conflict  was  in  regard  to  land,  that  it  turned  upon  the  vital 
question  of  land  tenure,  which  was  the  characteristic  feature 
of  the  struggle  for  independence  in  Schwiz,  if  not  in  the  other 
Forest  States. 

Habsburg's  exasperation  was  now  complete.  The  failure 
of  the  investigation  ordered  by  Henry  VII.,  and  now  this 
unpardonable  behavior  of  Schwiz,  made  a  peaceful  solution 
impossible.  Day  by  day  the  conviction  forced  itself  upon  the 
parties  involved,  that  the  relations  which  existed  between 
them  would  not  continue,  and  that  the  final  decision  must  be 
reached  in  a  resort  to  arms.  Of  course  this  particular  strug- 
gle was  only  an  incident  in  a  much  wider  conflict,  which  was 
going  on  everywhere  at  this  time,  between  the  peasants  and 
the  nobles.  Each  side  followed  the  dictates  of  self-interest, 

1  Rilliet,  A.     Origines.     p.  167  and  373. 


122  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

with  no  more  reference  to  general  principles  of  equity  than  we 
find  to-day  amongst  semi-barbaric  nations,  so  that  it  would  be 
unfair  to  stigmatize  the  conduct  of  the  ducal  house  as  tyran- 
nical, and  to  exalt  that  of  the  peasants  unreservedly  as  holy 
and  righteous.  Undoubtedly  the  patriots  were  fighting  for 
the  good  cause  of  popular  liberty,  but  Habsburg  at  the  same 
time  thought  itself  justified  by  law  in  resisting  their  attempts 
at  independence. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    MORGARTEN. 

BOTH  sides  made  ready  for  the  struggle.  In  the  autumn  of 
1315  Duke  Leopold,  the  King's  brother,  rallied  around 
him  a  formidable  army  in  the  Aargau,  composed  of  vassal 
Knights,  and  infantry  recruited  from  the  towns  subject  to  him. 
Says  Johannes  Vitoduranus  (of  Winterthur),  a  contemporary 
chronicler,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  best  account  of  the 
battle  of  Morgarten :  "  The  men  of  this  army  came  together 
with  one  purpose,  to  utterly  subdue  and  humiliate  those  peas- 
ants who  were  surrounded  with  mountains  as  with  walls."  1 

Leopold's  plan  of  attack  was  in  every  way  an  admirable  one, 
but  carelessly  executed.  His  main  force  was  to  march  upon 
Schwiz,  over  the  low  Sattel  pass,  skirting  the  ridge  of  Morgar- 
ten, while  minor  detachments  operated  against  Unterwalden, 
so  as  to  involve  these  two  States  in  a  network  from  which 
there  could  be  no  escape. 

In  the  meantime  the  Confederates  had  not  been  idle. 
King  Ludwig  had  so  far  espoused  their  cause  as  to  publicly 
announce  their  right  to  the  immunity,  and  to  annul  the  decree 
of  political  interdict  launched  against  them  by  Frederic,  as 
punishment  for  the  raid  of  Schwiz  upon  Einsiedeln.  But 
Ludwig  gave  them  no  material  aid,  and  they  knew  well  that 
his  moral  support  merely  would  avail  them  nothing,  sur- 
rounded as  they  were  on  all  sides  by  the  subjects  of  Habsburg. 
The  Confederates,  therefore,  looked  to  their  frontier  defences, 
and  got  ready  their  famous  halberds,  formidable  weapons  of 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  54. 

123 


124  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

their  own  invention,  to  be  used  in  striking,  thrusting,  as  well  as 
dragging  men  from  their  horses ;  nor  did  they  forget,  accord- 
ing to  the  chronicler,  to  offer  public  prayers  for  heavenly  aid, 
according  to  immemorial  custom,  on  the  eve  of  any  great 
undertaking. 

Morgarten  is  not  a  terrifying,  craggy  Alpine  pass,  as  pop- 
ular imagination  has  painted  it,  but  is  a  ridge  of  hills,  situated 
in  the  rolling  country  north  of  the  village  of  Schwiz.  If  the 
scenery  can  be  said  to  be  remarkable  at  all,  it  is  by  reason  of 
a  certain  gentle  charm,  due  to  the  absence  of  the  higher  Alps, 
and  the  softness  of  the  velvet  slopes. 

On  the  1 5th  of  November,  the  forces  of  Schwiz,  with  rein- 
forcements from  Uri  and  Unterwalden,  were  posted  on  the 
Sattel  Pass,  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Austrians.  The 
main  force  of  the  Austrian  Knights  advanced  along  the  road 
which  skirts  the  Lake  of  Aegeri,  riding  toward  Schwiz  in  the 
best  of  spirits.  They  jested  as  though  out  for  a  day's  sport, 
never  for  one  moment  doubting  that  they  would  return  victori- 
ous, in  fact,  they  were  so  sure  of  plunder,  that  their  attendants 
had  provided  themselves  with  ropes  in  order  to  lead  away  the 
captured  cattle. 

There  are  certain  topographical  details  which  must  be 
clearly  understood,  if  the  course  of  the  battle  is  to  be  at  all 
comprehensible. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  lake,  where  the  Confederates  were 
posted,  the  old  path  which  was  in  use  at  the  time  of  the  battle, 
branches  off  to  the  left  of  the  modern  carriage  road,  leading 
along  the  slope  of  Morgarten  to  join  the  modern  road  again  at 
an  old  piece  of  fortification,  called  the  Tower  of  Schorno. 
This  old  path  alone  can  reveal  the  secret  of  the  victory  of  the 
Confederates. 

As  the  knights  were  riding  up  this  path,  weighed  down  by 
heavy  accoutrements,  their  line  of  battle  necessarily  broken, 
they  came  to  a  spot  which  suddenly  placed  them  at  a  great 
disadvantage,  if  they  should  be  attacked.  Behind  them  was 
the  steep  path  which  they  had  mounted,  on  their  right  flank  a 


THE  BATTLE   OF  MORGARTEN.  125 

detached  hillock,  and  on  their  left  the  ridge  of  Morgarten. 
Here  the  battle  must  have  been  fought,  if  the  early  accounts 
of  the  course  of  events  are  to  have  any  meaning.  When  thus 
hemmed  in,  the  Austrians  suddenly  heard  a  loud,  roaring  noise 
and  looking  up,  beheld  an  avalanche  of  rocks  and  trees  rolling 
down  upon  them  from  the  Figlerfluh,  a  prominent  spur  of  the 
ridge  of  Morgarten.  A  somewhat  mistrusted  tradition  ascribes 
this  first  blow  to  a  detachment  of  fifty  men  of  Schwiz,  who 
had  been  banished  from  their  country,  and  were  desirous  of 
proving  their  loyalty  by  some  act  of  patriotism.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  effect  of  their  plan  was  instantaneous ;  the  Austrians 
were  thrown  into  the  wildest  confusion,  and  at  this  moment, 
the  main  force  of  the  Confederates  rushed  from  their  positions 
further  up  the  path,  swinging  their  deadly  halberds,  and 
hurled  themselves  against  the  invaders  with  a  momentum 
made  irresistible  by  their  descent.  Unable  to  deploy  their 
mounted  force  in  this  natural  trap,  the  Austrians  were  obliged 
to  yield  in  the  direction  of  the  lake,  whence  they  had  come. 
The  retreat  turned  into  flight,  the  battle  into  slaughter. 
Some  were  crushed  by  the  falling  masses,  some  hewn  down, 
and  others  crowded  into  the  lake,  where  they  were  drowned  in 
their  armor;  the  rest  fled  to  the  friendly  shelter  of  the  towns, 
which  were  under  Austria's  protection. 

Amongst  the  Knights  who  reached  Winterthur  that  night, 
our  chronicler,  Johannes  Vitoduranus,  saw:  "Liipold,  who 
seemed  half-dead  with  overpowering  sorrow.  That  I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes/'  he  assures  us,  "for  I  was  a  schoolboy  at  that 
time,  and  ran  in  great  glee  to  meet  my  father  at  the  gate,  with 
other,  older  schoolboys."1 

Many  a  noble  family  in  Austrian  lands  mourned  a  father, 
son  or  brother,  on  that  day,  but  the  loss  of  the  Confederates 
was  insignificant. 

"When  the  fight  was  over,  the  men  of  Schwiz  pulled  off  the 
weapons  of  the  killed  and  drowned,  robbed  them  also  of  their 
other  possessions,  and  enriched  themselves  with  arms  and 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  55. 


126          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

money.  "  In  order  to  commemorate  the  victory,  a  chapel  was 
erected  near  by,  dedicated  to  St.  Jacob,  where  a  rude,  but 
exceedingly  graphic  picture  of  the  battle  now  hangs. 

Morgarten  was  one  of  the  first  occasions  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  perhaps  the  very  first,  on  which  any  army  of  mounted 
Knights  was  conquered  by  peasants  on  foot ;  so  that  for  this 
reason,  if  for  no  other,  it  deserves,  an  important  place  in  the 
annals  of  military  tactics.  The  Bernese  chronicler,  Justinger, 
supplies  an  anecdote  which,  if  true,  shows  that  one  person, 
at  least,  in  the  Austrian  camp  was  not  without  apprehensions. 
Jenni  von  Stocken,  the  duke's  fool,  when  asked  what  he 
thought  of  the  plan  of  invasion,  remarked  that  he  did  not  like 
it :  "  You  have  all  taken  counsel  how  best  to  get  into  the  coun- 
try, but  have  given  no  explanation  of  how  you  are  going  to  get 
out  again  !  " l 

As  in  the  perpetual  league  of  1291  we  heralded  the  birth  of 
the  Swiss  Confederation,  so  in  this  battle  we  must  recognize 
its  martial  baptismal  day.  Henceforth  the  union  of  the  Forest 
States  was  admitted  to  membership  in  the  company  of  the 
nations,  modest  newcomers,  occupying  humble  positions,  but 
none  the  less  worthy  of  admiration  and  respect. 

The  din  of  battle  had  barely  subsided  when,  on  the  •  Qth  of 
December,  1315,  the  Confederates  hastened  to  renew  their 
first  league  at  the  village  of  Brunnen.  Nothing  more  beauti- 
ful could  be  imagined  than  the  surroundings  amid  which  this 
document  was  signed,  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  abrupt  turn 
which  the  Lake  of  Luzern  takes  to  the  south,  where  it  opens 
out  into  an  arm  known  as  the  Lake  of  Uri. 

This  second  league  made  no  change  in  the  general  policy  of 
the  Confederation,  but  rather  served  to  accentuate  the  princi- 
ples previously  enunciated.  Thus,  after  repeating  that  every 
man  should  obey  his  overlord,  exception  is  made  of  "those 
lords  or  that  lord  who  shall  attack  one  of  the  Lands  with  vio- 
lence, or  force  unjust  exactions ;  such  an  one  or  such  men  shall 
not  be  served  as  long  as  they  have  not  given  satisfaction  to  the 

JDandliker,  K.     Geschichte.     Vol.  I.,  p.  391. 


THE  BATTLE   OF  MORGARTEN.  127 

Lands."  An  important  provision  is  the  following:  "We  have 
also  agreed  that  none  of  the  Lands,  nor  any  one  amongst  the 
Confederates  [here  the  German  name  Eidgenosse  appears  for 
the  first  time]  shall  give  an  oath  or  pledge  to  a  foreigner  with- 
out the  advice  of  the  other  Lands  or  Confederates."1 

As  for  King  Ludwig,  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  the  Forest 
States  had  given  proof  of  such  unexpected  powers  when  aban- 
doned to  their  own  resources,  he  promptly  annulled  all  of 
Habsburg's  rights  in  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden,  whether 
administrative  or  proprietary,  and  confirmed  all  their  charters 
of  immunity. 

Three  years  after  the  battle  the  Dukes  of  Austria  decided  to 
make  peace  with  the  Confederates.  Indeed  they  were  so  hope- 
lessly involved  in  a  life  and  death  struggle  with  King  Ludwig, 
that  they  saw  no  immediate  chance  of  avenging  themselves 
for  the  defeat  which  they  had  sustained  at  Morgarten. 
Accordingly,  the  Dukes  of  Austria  formally  renounced  all 
administrative  rights  within  the  three  States,  maintaining, 
however,  their  ancient  estates  with  the  serfs  and  revenues 
appertaining  to  them,  in  spite  of  Ludwig's  act,  which  was 
intended  to  deprive  them  of  proprietary  rights  as  well.  Provi- 
sion was  made  for  debts  contracted  before  and  during  the  war. 
The  Confederates,  on  their  side,  bound  themselves  not  to 
form  any  alliances  injurious  to  the  interests  of  Austria. 
They  guaranteed  safe  passage  for  all  men  through  their  terri- 
tory, and  stipulated  that  the  same  should  be  accorded  to  them 
on  the  roads  leading  through  the  Austrian  lands  which  sur- 
rounded them. 

Seven  times  were  these  articles  of  peace  renewed,  until,  in 
1323,  they  were  allowed  to  lapse,  without  this  fact,  however, 
leading  to  immediate  hostilities. 

At  this  point  we  have  reached  the  first  stage  in  the  rise  of 
the  Swiss  Confederation.  We  have  seen  three  separate  com- 
munities, different  in  their  origin  and  development,  but  one  in 
their  interests,  growing  side  by  side  into  vigorous  democracies, 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch      p.  56. 


128  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

then  uniting  in  an  indissoluble  bond,  and  finally  defeating  in 
battle  the  hereditary  foe  who  had  refused  to  acknowledge  their 
independent  position  in  the  German  Empire.  We  have  been 
impressed  throughout  by  the  sobriety  and  moderation  of  the 
patriots,  above  all  by  their  marvelous  patience  in  adversity. 

The  next  stage  is  to  be  the  growth  of  this  primitive  league 
into  a  powerful  Confederation  by  .the  adherence  of  other  sov- 
ereign communities. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

LUZERN. 

THE  Confederates  did  not  lapse  into  inactivity  after  their 
victory  at  Morgarten,  nor  were  they  deceived  as  to  the 
enemy's  ultimate  intentions  by  the  temporary  cessation  of 
hostilities  which  followed  that  battle.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
had  the  conditions  of  peace  expired  in  1323,  than  they  cast 
about  for  allies  amongst  the  communities  in  their  neighbor- 
hood, whose  aspirations  for  independence  were  being  opposed 
by  Habsburg. 

In  this  emergency  they  turned  to  Luzern,  a  small  city  at 
that  time,  growing  into  comparative  importance  on  account 
of  its  connection  with  the  pass  over  the  St.  Gothard.  In- 
deed the  union  of  the  three  States  to  Luzern  was,  in  a 
sense,  a  physical  necessity.  The  waters  of  the  lake  served 
both  as  a  natural  bond,  and  also  as  a  convenient  highway 
for  their  commerce  —  the  lake  being,  in  fact,  called  the 
Vierwaldstattersee,  or  the  Lake  of  the  Four  Forest  States. 
They  were  mutually  dependent  upon  each  other's  good  will 
for  whatever  measure  of  trade  they  might  acquire,  so  that 
it  was  no  difficult  matter  to  convert  their  commercial  bond 
into  a  political  one,  resting  on  the  surest  of  foundations,  a 
community  of  interests.  On  the  /th  of  November,  1832^  a 
perpetual  league  was  concluded  between  the  Schultheiss, 
Council  and  Burghers  of  the  city  of  Luzern  and  the  people 
of  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden.  The  original  document  is 
not  extant ;  its  contents  are  only  known  from  copies. 

After  a  preamble,   which  reads   like   that   prefixed   to   the 

129 


130  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

league  of  1315,  the  contracting  parties  engage  under  oath 
to  help  each  other  in  certain  specified  ways.  It  is  first 
expressly  stipulated  that  Austria's  rights  in  Luzern  and  those 
of  the  Emperor  in  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden  shall  be 
respected  as  heretofore.  In  case,  however,  one  of  the  Four 
States  is  unjustly  treated  by  foes  from  without  or  within, 
the  injured  parties  shall  meet  under  oath,  and  the  majority  of 
them  shall  decide  whether  the  injury  is  such  as  to  require 
the  help  of  the  Confederates.  Should  this  be  the  case, 
the  threatened  States  shall  issue  a  warning  call  (Maknung} 
to  the  others,  and  the  latter  shall  be  bound  to  go  to  the 
rescue,  without  investigating  the  case  for  themselves,  and  at 
their  own  expense.  Difficulties  between  the  Confederates 
shall  be  settled  by  arbitration,  "the  best  and  wisest"  being 
selected  as  judges.  An  important  provision  declares  that 
no  separate  alliance  shall  be  contracted  without  the  permis- 
sion of  all  the  Confederates.1 

Documentary  evidence  of  a  later  date  tends  to  show  that 
the  little  semi-independent  villages  of  Gersau,  Weggis,  and 
Vitznau,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rigi,  also  joined  the  league  at 
this  time,  although  they  are  not  mentioned  in  the  document. 

Rude  and  unpolished  as  are  some  of  the  terms  contained 
in  this  document,  they  speak  unmistakably  for  the  wisdom 
of  the  contracting  parties.  The  rights  of  the  individual 
States  were  carefully  maintained,  their  private  affairs  left 
untouched,  while,  at  the  same  time,  a  firm  union  between  them 
was  established  through  which  their  common  interests  were 
guarded.  The  result  was  a  federal  organization  which  could 
be  safely  counted  upon  to  withstand  external  pressure  and 
•  internal  dissensions.  Especially  is  that  rule  to  be  commended 
which  forbade  the  contracting  parties  to  enter  into  separate 
alliances  without  the  permission  of  all  the  Confederates.  Had 
this  rule  been  observed  by  members  which  joined  the  Confed- 
eration after  Luzern,  some  of  the  saddest  and  most  humiliating 
chapters  in  Swiss  history  would  never  have  had  to  be  written. 

1Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  71. 


LUZERN.  131 

Luzern  owes  its  origin  to  a  colony  of  monks  from  the 
Alsacian  Abbey  of  Murbach,  who,  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  century,  founded  a  little  monastery  in  honor  of  St. 
Ledger  on  the  bank  of  the  Reuss,  at  the  point  where  that  river 
leaves  the  lake.  Around  this  nucleus  there  grew  up  a  city 
bearing  the  name  of  Luzerren,  or  Luciaria,  in  the  documents. 
It  was  at  one  time  supposed  that  a  Roman  lighthouse  (lucerna) 
had  stood  here,  but  there  is  no  evidence  of  a  Roman  settle- 
ment, and  a  more  reasonable  interpretation  of  the  name  seems 
to  be  that  of  Leodegar's-Ern,  contracted  into  Luzern,  meaning 
Ledger's  farm. 

Luzern,  being  the  property  of  the  Abbey  of  Murbach,  was 
an  example  of  a  city  under  ecclesiastical  rule.  It  sought  to 
possess  the  ReicJisunmittelbarkeit.  The  Abbot  governed  in 
the  capacity  of  owner  and  by  means  of  his  representative, 
a  Mayor  or  Ammann,  who  collected  tithes  and  tried  minor 
offences,  while  the  more  important  ones  were  in  charge  of  the 
Steward  of  Murbach,  an  office  held  since  1239,  conjointly  with 
that  of  the  Count  of  Aargau,  by  the  elder  branch  of  the  house 
of  Habsburg.  The  Steward  administered  justice  through 
an  Underbailiff,  resident  at  Rothenburg,  and  was  probably 
also  represented  in  the  city  by  a  magistrate,  known  as  the 
Schultheiss. 

It  was  the  aim  of  every  city,  whether  subject  to  secular  or 
ecclesiastical  rulers,  to  attain  complete  self-government.  In 
this  all  were  not  successful,  nor  was  there  any  uniformity  in 
the  manner  of  procedure,  but  there  were  certain  steps  which 
all  alike  were  obliged  to  take.  One  was  to  obtain  a  charter, 
a  Handfeste  or  Brief.  Sometimes  this  privilege  had  been 
granted  when  the  city  was  founded;  in  that  case  the  task 
of  liberation  became  all  the  easier.  Another  step  was  to  con- 
stitute a  council  (Rath),  and  to  elect  a  presiding  officer,  called 
Biirgermeister  or  Schultheiss.  From  this  point  of  vantage  the 
citizens  could  then  wrest  farther  rights  from  their  rulers  until 
they  became  entirely  self-governing. 

In  general,  Swiss  cities  advanced  much  further  in  the  path 


132          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

of  independence  than  the  majority  of  cities  in  other  parts  of 
the  German  Empire.  They  grew  to  be  veritable  republics. 
Their  sovereignty,  when  once  attained,  not  only  gave  them 
perfect  freedom  in  all  municipal  matters,  but  also  clothed 
them  with  powers  which  are  generally  reserved  for  national 
governments.  In  their  markets  they  had  their  own  commer- 
cial regulations,  used  their  own  weights  and  measures,  coined 
their  own  money,  contracted  alliances,  declared  war,  or 
remained  neutral  as  they  chose,  and  finally  possessed  their  own 
seals,  as  expressions  of  undisputed  sovereignty.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  at  any  given  time  there  would  be  the  greatest 
diversity  amongst  the  cities,  according  to  the  stage  which  they 
had  reached  on  the  road  to  self-government,  and  that  the 
value  of  a  particular  city  in  the  general  struggle  of  the  people 
against  the  nobles  would  depend  very  much  upon  the  degree 
of  independence  it  could  command. 

At  the  time  of  Luzern's  entry  into  the  Confederation,  the 
citizens  had  already  acquired  certain  important  rights  and  priv- 
ileges. During  the  struggle  between  the  empire  and  the 
papacy,  about  1245,  they  had  joined  issue  with  Schwiz  and 
Obwalden  against  the  house  of  Habsburg.  In  1252  they 
obtained  a  charter,  the  so-called  "Sworn  Brief",  thus  making 
their  first  decisive  advance  on  the  road  toward  self-govern- 
ment. Little  by  little  the  process  of  emancipation  unfolded 
itself.  When,  in  1273,  Rudolf  of  Habsburg  ascended  the 
throne,  he  gave  his  royal  sanction  to  the  privileges  Luzern 
already  possessed,  and  added  others  of  importance. 

Suddenly,  however,  the  prospect  which  had  appeared  so 
bright,  became  clouded  over,  for  in  1291,  a  few  months  before 
his  death,  Rudolf  bought  for  his  sons  all  the  possessions  of  the 
Abbey  of  Murbach  lying  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine,  including 
also  Luzern  and  adjacent  estates.  For  this  he  paid  the  finan- 
cially embarrassed  Abbot  Berchtold  the  sum  of  2000  marks  in 
silver,  and  gave  up  to  him  a  few  villages  in  Elsass.  Some  of 
the  older  Swiss  historians  have  maintained  that  the  Abbot  had 
given  the  citizens  a  promise  never  to  alienate  them  from  him- 


LUZEEN.\*  J      133 

X£&/FORHA«X 

self.  It  is  very  difficult,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  ascertain 
the  truth  in  regard  to  this,  but,  as  there  is  a  complete  lack  of 
contemporary  evidence,  modern  historians  have  been  inclined 
to  doubt  the  existence  of  any  such  promise.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  change  in  Luzern's  condition  caused  by  this  pur- 
chase was  decidedly  for  the  worse,  since  the  city  thereby  lost 
the  rights  of  immunity,  and  virtually  became  the  personal 
property  of  the  Dukes  of  Austria.  All  advance  in  the  direc- 
tion of  self-government  was  stopped  for  a  time.  In  1315,  the 
citizens  were  obliged  by  their  Austrian  masters  to  take  part 
against  the  Three  Forest  States  at  the  battle  of  Morgarten, 
although  it  is  not  known  that  they  had  any  righting  to  do  on 
that  occasion.  But  the  unexpected  success  of  the  peasants 
against  the  Austrian  knights,  revived  the  drooping  courage  of 
the  burghers  and  animated  them  with  new  hopes.  A  party 
was  formed  within  the  city  whose  ultimate  object  was  union 
with  the  Three  States,  and  whose  immediate  efforts  were 
directed  toward  acquiring  the  right  of  electing  the  whole  of 
the  Council  and  its  presiding  officer,  the  Schultheiss.  Their 
reforms  were  but  half  attained  when  the  perpetual  league  of 
1332  was  concluded  with  Uri,  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden. 

In  view  of  this  bold  stroke  of  Luzern,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  Dukes  of  Austria  should  have  made  every  effort  to 
punish  the  rebellious  burghers.  A  desultory  warfare  ensued, 
made  intermittent  by  the  struggle  which  Duke  Albrecht  was 
waging  with  Adolf  of  Nassau  for  the  crown.  In  the  end  the 
citizens  were  brought  into  subjection,  but  their  alliance  with 
Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden  remained  intact,  as  far  as  can 
be  ascertained  from  the  meagre  tidings  of  the  conflict  which 
have  reached  us. 

Another  danger  menaced  Luzern  in  1343,  this  time  from 
within.  It  appears  that  a  party  was  organized  in  opposition 
to  what  we  may  call  the  patriotic  one,  with  the  purpose  of 
destroying  the  league  and  bringing  the  city  once  more  under 
Austria's  sway.  Little  is  known  of  this  movement  from  docu- 
mentary evidence.  The  chronicler,  Etterlin,  in  his  "Kronika 


134  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

von  der  loblichen  Eidgnoschaft,"  relates  the  following  story, 
showing  how  the  designs  of  the  conspirators  were  frustrated 
by  the  patriotism  of  a  boy  who  overheard  their  deliberations. 
Whatever  may  be  the  untrustworthiness  of  this  incident  from 
a  strictly  historical  standpoint,  it  is  not  devoid  of  a  picturesque 
charm. 

The  conspirators  were  holding  a  conclave  in  a  vault  under 
the  Tailor's  Guild  house,  when  a  boy  happened  to  pass  that 
way.  "  Hearing  the  sound  of  muttering,"  writes  Etterlin, 
"  and  the  clashing  of  arms,  he  was  afraid  and  thought  the 
place  haunted,  and  turned  to  flee;  but  some  men  gave  chase, 
and  held  him  fast.  They  threatened  his  life,  that  he  should 
tell  no  man  what  he  had  seen.  He  promised  and  went  with 
them.  And  thus  he  heard  their  deliberations.  And  when  no 
one  more  gave  heed  unto  him,  he  quietly  crept  from  thence, 
went  up  the  steps  by  the  house  of  the  tailors  into  the  street,  and 
looked  about  if  he  might  see  a  light.  This  he  saw  in  the  Guild 
room  of  the  butchers,  where  the  men  were  wont  to  sit  up  later 
than  in  other  rooms.  He  went  in  and  saw  many  men  drinking 
and  playing.  Here  he  sat  him  down  behind  the  stove,  and 
began  to  say :  '  Oh !  stove,  stove ! '  But  no  one  gave  heed 
unto  him.  Then  cried  he  again  :  '  Oh !  stove,  stove  !  May  I 
speak  ? '  The  men  now  became  aware  of  his  presence,  mocked 
him,  and  thought  him  mad,  and  asked  him  who  he  was,  and 
what  he  wanted.  'Oh!  nothing,  nothing,'  was  his  answer. 
Then  began  he  a  third  time  and  said  :  '  Oh !  stove,  stove  !  I  must 
make  my  complaint  to  thee,  since  I  may  speak  to  no  man  — 
to-night  there  are  men  gathered  under  the  great  vault  at  the 
corner,  who  are  going  to  commit  murder.'  As  soon  as  the 
men  heard  that,  they  ran  out  in  haste,  gave  the  alarm,  made 
prisoners  of  the  conspirators,  and  forced  them  to  swear 
fealty."  * 

The  above  episode  in  the  history  of  Luzern  is  known  as  the 
Night  of  the  Massacre  (Mordnachf}.  Recent  Swiss  historians 
are  inclined  to  regard  it  as  legendary,  on  account  of  its  close 

1  Dandliker,  K.     Geschichte.     p.  423. 


LUZERN.  135 

resemblance  to  a  whole  collection  of  German  legends.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Luzern  at  the  time  under 
consideration  passed  through  an  internal  crisis  of  some  sort 
which  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  patriotic  party. 

The  league  of  the  Four  Forest  States  had  now  resisted  suc- 
cessfully the  assaults  of  the  enemy  from  without  and  within. 
Its  maintenance  was,  therefore,  more  than  ever  assured.  With 
the  prestige  conferred  upon  it  by  the  presence  of  a  city  amid 
its  members,  the  Confederation  could  enter  upon  the  task  of 
absorbing  other  important  communities  on  its  borders,  for  it 
was  destined,  in  time,  to  embrace  all  the  little  states  which  hid 
amongst  the  Alps,  and  all  the  cities  which  clustered  on  their 
sloping  plains,  as  far  east  and  north  as  the  Rhine,  as  far  west 
as  the  Jura  range,  and  as  far  south  as  the  Italian  lakes. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ZURICH. 

"\TINETEEN  years  elapsed  before  the  Confederation  re- 
1  N  ceived  any  new  additions,  but  after  this  interval,  as  if 
to  make  up  for  lost  time,  four  members  were  admitted  in 
rapid  succession. 

Of  these  the  first  was  Zurich,  the  free  city,  whose  rise  in  the 
East  of  Switzerland  offers  the  student  of  municipalities  one  of 
the  most  interesting  subjects  to  which  he  can  devote  himself. 

Zurich  is  unquestionably  of  greater  antiquity  than  Luzern. 
Traces  of  lake-dwelling  settlements  have  been  found  in  the 
whole  neighborhood,  and  during  the  Helveto-Roman  period  it 
was  known  as  Turicum,  a  small  customs-station  for  the  regula- 
tion of  trade  flowing  from  Gaul  to  Raetia  and  vice  versa. 
All  traces  of  the  place,  however,  are  lost  throughout  that  time 
of  savage  gloom  which  settled  upon  the  whole  of  what  is  now 
German  Switzerland  after  the  invasion  of  the  Alamanni,  so 
that  when  it  reappears  in  the  Qth  century,  it  presents  quite 
another  aspect. 

Four  separate  settlements  could  be  distinguished  as  occupy- 
ing the  ground  whereon  the  modern  city  stands.  An  imperial 
castle,  or  Pfalzy  stood  on  the  eminence  now  called  Lindenhof, 
surrounded  by  dependents  who  were  designated  as  fiscalini  in 
the  legal  phraseology  of  the  day ;  a  minster,  the  present  Gross- 
miinster,  with  an  Institute  of  Canons  and  a  cloister  school 
attached,  had  attracted  another  group  of  dependents,  named 
ministerialist  to  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Limmat :  and  the 
Abbey  of  Nuns,  the  Fraumiinster,  founded  by  Ludwig  the  Ger- 
man, in  853,  had  likewise  drawn  a  group  to  the  left  bank. 

136 


ZURICH.  137 

Finally  a  fourth  settlenfcent,  a  community  of  free  Alamanni, 
lived  at  the  foot  of  the  Ziirichberg. 

According  to  feudal  regulations,  these  four  settlements  were 
differently  governed.  The  Pfalz  was  subject  to  an  imperial 
bailiff,  the  two  church  foundations  to  a  steward,  and  the  free 
Alamanni  to  the  Count  of  the  Zurichgau.  Medieval  Zurich 
arose  from  the  mingling  of  these  four  elements  into  one,  a  pro- 
cess which  was  initiated  by  placing  them  all  under  one  bailiff, 
representing  the  emperor,  and  turning  the  whole  into  an 
administrative  district  known  as  the  imperial  bailiwick  of 
Zurich.  As  a  result  of  this  method  of  simplification  the  city 
came  into  possession  of  the  Reichsunmittelbarkeit,  assuming  an 
exceptional  position  in  the  Zurichgau,  within  whose  boundaries 
it  was  situated. 

The  office  of  imperial  bailiff  became  hereditary  in  the  fami- 
lies of  Lenzburg  and  Zaeringen  consecutively.  Upon  the 
death  of  the  last  Duke  of  Zaeringen  it  reverted  to  the  empire, 
and  Frederic  II.  decided  that  it  should  no  longer  be  inherited 
from  father  to  son,  but  that,  subject  to  his  approval,  it  should 
be  awarded  to  a  citizen  from  the  ranks  of  aristocracy,  chosen 
by  the  citizens  themselves.  After  obtaining  this  very  impor- 
tant privilege,  Zurich  sought  to  curtail  the  powers  of  the 
Abbess  of  the  Fraumiinster,  who  still  enjoyed  many  constitu- 
tional rights  in  the  city.  She  appointed  a  Schultheiss  to  try 
minor  cases,  controlled  the  customs  and  market  duties,  and 
regulated  municipal  coinage,  weights  and  measures.  Nor  was 
the  result  of  such  prerogatives  by  any  means  insignificant. 

Zurich's  position  gave  it  special  importance  as  a  commer- 
cial centre  between  Italy  and  Germany ;  its  regular  markets 
attracted  buyers  and  sellers ;  its  sanctuaries  worshippers ;  its 
silk  industry,  introduced  from  Lombardy  under  the  Hohen- 
stauffen  emperors,  brought  artisans ;  and  the  frequent  visits 
of  these  same  emperors  added  to  its  prestige.  The  chronicler 
Otto  von  Freising  called  it  "  Turegum  nobilissimum  Suevics 
oppidum"  and  quoted  an  ancient  inscription  over  one  of  the 
city  gates,  "Nobile  Turegumy  multarum  copia  rerum" 


138          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

A  great  part  of  the  revenue  of  this  prosperous  city  flowed 
into  the  coffers  of  the  Abbess,  who,  at  the  same  time,  was 
entitled  to  the  designation  of  a  princess  of  the  realm.  But 
the  remedy  for  this  excessive  power  lay  near  at  hand.  It  had 
been  the  custom  for  successive  Abbesses  to  summon  a  council 
of  advisors,  chosen  from  the  aristocracy  of  the  city,  to  help 
them  in  the  management  of  their  affairs.  In  Zurich,  as  in 
other  cities,  the  council  soon  became  the  agent  of  the  citizens 
in  forwarding  their  interests  and  helping  them  in  their  aspira- 
tions after  self-government. 

During  the  struggle  between  the  empire  and  the  papacy,  this 
council  succeeded  in  curtailing  and  absorbing  the  rights  of  the 
Abbess  and  the  Schultheiss,  and  even  in  diminishing  those  of 
the  imperial  bailiff,  so  that  the  Princess-Abbess  sank  into 
political  insignificance,  and  Zurich  flourished  as  a  free  city  of 
the  German  Empire.  In  1304,  a  compilation  of  laws,  begun 
under  Rudolf  of  Habsburg,  was  brought  to  a  close,  and  styled 
"The  Brief  of  Rights  of  the  Burghers  of  Zurich."  It  proves 
conclusively  that  the  city,  at  that  time,  already  enjoyed  a  posi- 
tion of  great  independence,  for  the  council  appears  as  a 
sovereign  body  with  extraordinary  powers,  both  legislative, 
executive  and  judiciary. 

Such  was  the  origin  and  growth  of  Zurich,  and  such  the 
state  of  its  affairs,  internally  and  externally,  when,  toward  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  a  great  revolutionary 
storm,  which  had  long  been  brewing,  burst  forth  and  shook  the 
city  to  its  foundations. 

It  was  this  social  and  political  revolution  which  indirectly 
led  to  a  definite  alliance  between  Zurich  and  the  Forest  States. 

When  Zurich  has  been  described  in  these  pages  as  a  free 
city  of  the  German  Empire,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  term  free,  as  applied  to  a  city  in  the  Middle  Ages,  meant 
that  all  its  inhabitants  enjoyed  equal  political  rights.  Such 
ideas  were  foreign  to  the  medieval  conception  of  the  state,  and 
altogether  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  It  is  true  a 
free  city  was  exempt  from  the  control  of  the  count  or  bailiff, 


ZURICH.  139 

and  empowered  to  regulate  its  private  affairs,  but  that  did  not 
imply  that  all  its  citizens  possessed  a  voice  in  the  government. 

Generally  speaking  there  were  three  great  classes  in  every 
city:  i,  the  nobility;  2,  the  simple  free  burghers;  and  3,  the 
working  men,  i.  e.  the  artisans  and  common  laborers.  Only 
the  first  two  classes,  known  together  as  Old  Burghers,  had  any 
political  rights,  the  third  having  no  share  in  the  government 
whatsoever,  for  they  were  neither  eligible  to  office  themselves, 
nor  permitted  to  vote  for  others  —  a  political  condition  admi- 
rably expressed  by  the  German  term,  "nicht  regiments-fahig" 
In  fact  something  of  that  relation  which  existed  between 
the  Patricians  and  Plebeians  of  Rome  was  repeated  in 
the  medieval  cities  of  the  German  Empire  between  the  Old 
Burghers  and  the  oppressed  working  classes.  But  the  time 
came  when  commerce  and  manufacturing  enterprises  made 
giant  strides,  owing  chiefly  to  the  intercourse  with  the 
Byzantine  Empire,  which  followed  in  the  devastating  track 
of  the  Crusades,  when,  as  a  consequence,  the  demand  for 
artisans  and  laborers  increased,  and  their  importance  to  the 
community  was  acknowledged.  They  became  aware  of  the  in- 
justice inflicted  upon  them  by  the  idle  governing  class ;  they 
saw  that  their  political  condition  had  not  kept  pace  with  their 
general  advance  in  the  direction  of  wealth  and  influence. 

At  the  time  of  the  popular  rising  in  Zurich,  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment which  obtained  was  oligarchical;  the  supreme  author- 
ity being  represented  by  a  council  composed  of  thirty-six  Old 
Burghers,  divided  into  three  groups  of  twelve,  each  of  which 
governed  for  a  third  of  the  year.  As  the  people  at  large 
were  not  eligible  to  office,  nor  permitted  to  vote,  the  govern- 
ing class  could  award  the  places  in  the  council  to  suit  their 
particular  interests,  and  needed  not  to  be  over  scrupulous 
in  the  manner  in  which  they  secured  the  necessary  votes. 
In  the  end  the  council  lost  the  confidence,  not  only  of  the 
workingmen,  but  also  of  a  part  of  the  Old  Burghers :  it 
was  accused  of  recruiting  its  numbers  from  bad  sources,  and 
of  corrupt  dealings  in  its  administration,  especially  in  regard 


140          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

to  the  revenues.  There  was  a  widespread  feeling  of  discon- 
tent and  indignation,  an  outspoken  desire  for  a  change 
which  would  give  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  a  voice  in 
its  government.  What  was  needed  was  a  leader,  a  man 
who  would  know  how  to  unite  the  disaffected  amongst  the 
governing  class  with  the  great  mass  of  working  men,  clam- 
oring for  a  reform  on  democratic  lines.  The  popular  party 
found  the  required  leader  in  Rudolf  Brun,  himself  a  descendant 
of  one  of  the  oldest  families,  and  a  member  of  the  council. 

Interesting  as  is  this  great  historical  personage,  conspic- 
uous, not  only  in  the  annals  of  Ziirich  and  Switzerland, 
but  also  in  those  of  Europe  in  the  fourteenth  century,  it 
is  surprising  how  little  definite  knowledge  we  have,  either 
of  his  early  history,  or  of  the  reasons  which  led  him  to  take 
up  the  role  of  reformer.  He  was  fifty  years  of  age  when 
these  stormy  events  in  his  native  city  brought  him  to  the 
front,  but  no  definite  information  has  reached  us  of  his  life 
prior  to  this  time,  except  a  somewhat  disgraceful  escapade 
which  happened  while  he  was  a  member  of  the  Council. 
It  appears  from  the  records,  that  he  and  a  fellow  Councillor, 
Rudolf  Biber,  were  condemned  upon  one  occasion  to  pay  a 
heavy  fine  of  550  pounds,  for  having  given  offence  to  a  lady 
of  the  aristocracy,  a  Frau  von  Lunkhofen.  What  their 
crime  had  been,  will  probably  always  remain  a  mystery, 
whether  it  was  actually  of  a  scandalous  nature,  or  simply  an 
outbreak  of  rudeness;  but  judging  from  the  size  of  the  fine, 
the  former  supposition  seems  to  be  the  correct  one.  Some 
historians  have  argued  that  Brun  was  actuated  by  revenge 
for  this  humiliation  in  espousing  the  cause  of  the  working 
men  against  the  class  to  which  he  himself  belonged ;  per- 
haps this  consideration  exerted  some  influence  upon  his 
choice  of  party,  but,  if  personal  motives  were  present,  they 
were  more  probably  those  common  to  all  strong,  command- 
ing natures,  such  as  Brun's  proved  itself  to  be :  love  of 
power  and  the  hope  of  fame. 

Only  the  general  features  of  the  uprising  can  be  gathered 


ZURICH.  141 

from  Johannes  Vitoduranus,  or  from  Eberhard  Mulner,  an  aris- 
tocratic partisan  of  Brun,  who  wrote  the  Annals  of  Zurich. 
They  say  that  the  council  was  dismissed  and  banished  from 
the  city,  that  Brun  was  chosen  Burgermeister,  and  that  guilds 
were  instituted.  It  is  easier  to  learn  the  extent  of  the 
changes  made  in  the  government  by  examining  the  terms  of 
the  new  charter  or  constitution,  the  so-called  "First  Sworn 
Brief,"  which  was  solemnly  accepted  by  the  united  burghers 
on  the  1 6th  of  July,  1336.  The  document  is  full  of  interest 
on  account  of  the  glimpses  it  affords  of  the  inner  life  of  a  typ- 
ical medieval  city. 

First  comes  the  announcement  of  the  overthrow  of  the  old 
council,  the  accusations  brought  against  its  members,  and  their 
unfitness  ever  again  to  hold  office.  It  was  then  agreed  that 
the  whole  population,  "  Knights,  Nobles  and  Commons,"  rich 
and  poor,  should  swear  to  serve  and  obey  the  Burgermeister  in 
all  things,  even  unto  death,  and  that  this  oath  should  supersede 
all  others,  without,  however,  violating  the  rights  of  the  sover- 
eign of  the  German  Empire,  and  of  the  two  church  foundations 
in  the  city.  The  Burgermeister,  on  his  side,  must  swear  to 
protect  all  the  citizens,  according  to  the  best  of  his  ability  with- 
out distinction  of  rich  or  poor. 

The  new  council  was  to  be  elected  in  a  manner  hitherto 
unknown,  the  male  population  of  the  city  being  divided  for 
this  purpose  into  two  great  electoral  bodies.  The  classifica- 
tion adopted  was  sufficiently  singular  to  make  an  explanation 
interesting.  In  the  first  class  were  the  knights,  the  nobles, 
and  those  burghers  who  lived  on  their  incomes,  or  were  in 
business  as  merchants,  woolen-drapers,  money-changers,  gold- 
smiths, and  dealers  in  salt.  Together  they  formed  an  associa- 
ation  called  "The  Konstaffel,"1  and  represented  the  aristocracy 
of  rank  and  wealth  in  the  city.  The  working  men  were  rele- 
gated to  the  second  class,  and  grouped  into  thirteen  Guilds  or 
Fraternities.  It  is  worth  while  to  enumerate  the  various 
crafts,  because  they  afford  an  insight  into  social  and  indus- 

1  A  corruption  of  the  Latin  comes  stabuli. 


142  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

trial  conditions  of  the  fourteenth  century  which  one  could  not 
otherwise  obtain. 

The  first  guild  comprised  the  shop-keepers,  and  commercial 
travelers.  The  second  —  cloth-cutters,  tailors,  and  furriers. 
The  third  —  tavern-keepers,  wine-vendors,  tapsters,  saddlers, 
painters,  and  petty  dealers,  or  brokers.  The  fourth  —  bakers 
and  millers.  The  fifth  —  wool-Weavers,  wool-beaters,  makers 
of  grey  cloth,  and  hatters.  The  sixth  —  linen-weavers,  linen- 
drapers,  and  bleachers.  The  seventh — smiths,  sword-cutlers, 
pewterers,  bell  founders,  tin-smiths,  armorers,  barbers  and 
bathmen.  The  eighth  —  tanners,  and  dressers  of  parchment 
and  white  leather.  The  ninth  —  butchers,  and  those  who 
buy  cattle  in  the  country  and  drive  them  to  the  shambles. 
The  tenth  —  shoemakers.  The  eleventh  —  carpenters,  masons, 
cartwrights,  turners,  timber-dealers,  coopers,  and  vine-dressers. 
The  twelfth  —  fishermen,  boatmen,  cartmen,  rope-makers  and 
porters.  The  thirteenth  —  gardeners,  oil-men  and  peddlers.1 

Besides  the  purely  technical  duties  which  naturally  belonged 
to  these  guilds,  such  as  the  regulation  of  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  work  to  be  done,  and  the  supervision  over  the  relations 
between  masterworkmen,  journeymen  and  apprentices,  this 
"Brief"  also  conferred  military  and  political  duties  upon  them 
They  were  organized  into  companies,  each  with  a  banner,  and 
were  kept  ready  drilled  and  armed  to  defend  the  city  at  a 
moment's  notice.  Twice  a  year  the  guilds  proceeded  to  the 
election  of  guildmasters  (Ztmftmeister),  and  the  thirteen 
guildmasters  became  ex-officio  members  of  the  council,  thir- 
teen others  being  chosen  from  the  Konstaffel,  so  that  the  full 
membership  was  twenty-six. 

On  extraordinary  occasions  the  advice  of  a  larger  body  of 
citizens,  a  sort  of  popular  assembly,  could  be  consulted. 

Of  course  such  a  document  did  not  convert  Zurich  into  a 
democratic  community,  for  the  Biirgermeister  stands  forth  in 
the  light  of  an  irresponsible  ruler,  a  dictator  to  whom  all  must 
swear  fealty.  His  office  is  assured  to  him  for  life  in  return 
for  a  vague  promise  of  impartiality  in  the  administration  of  his 

JOechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  75. 


ZVRICH.  143 

office.  Viewed  from  a  modern  standpoint,  therefore,  this 
"First  Sworn  Brief"  is  almost  monarchical  in  its  conservatism. 
At  the  same  time  its  provisions  seem  to  have  been  well  suited 
to  the  requirements  of  the  age,  for  they  remained  in  force,  with 
few  alterations,  until  the  spirit  evoked  by  the  French  revolu- 
tion wrought  more  than  one  change  in  Europe.  Furthermore, 
the  guilds  were  as  natural  an  expression  of  the  aspirations  of 
the  workingmen  for  fuller  recognition,  as  are  the  trades  unions 
of  to-day.  They  accomplished  their  purpose  to  a  certain 
extent,  especially  during  the  earlier  stages  of  the  movement. 
It  was  only  when  the  guilds  began  to  tyrannize  over  society  by 
securing  a  monopoly  of  labor,  that  they  grew  corrupt,  and  were 
generally  done  away  with  as  dangerous  nuisances. 

No  sooner,  however,  was  the  storm  allayed  in  the  city,  than 
a  new  danger  presented  itself  from  without.  The  deposed 
party  found  a  ready  sympathizer  in  Count  John  of  Rapper- 
swil,  in  whose  little  city  at  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Zurich  they 
gathered  in  such  numbers  as  to  make  of  it  a  second  or  outer 
Zurich.  Encounters  between  the  rival  parties  became  of 
frequent  occurrence,  until  Count  John  himself  was  slain  in 
an  engagement  at  the  stronghold  of  Grinau.  Then  Duke 
Albrecht  of  Austria,  a  kinsman  to  the  late  Count,  seconded 
by  the  emperor,  interposed  and  forced  the  combatants  to  come 
to  terms.  But  this  enforced  peace  did  not  prove  very  lasting. 

On  the  night  of  the  23d  of  February,  1350,  an  attack  was 
made  upon  Zurich  under  the  leadership  of  the  son  of  the  slain 
Count  of  Rapperswil.  It  was  intended  to  be  a  surprise,  but 
Brun  had  been  warned  in  time  to  take  the  necessary  precau- 
tions. At  a  preconcerted  signal  the  loyal  citizens  and  guilds 
poured  forth  from  their  houses,  encountered  the  conspirators, 
and  in  the  ensuing  street  fight  made  prisoners  of  the  Count  of 
Rapperswil  and  the  principal  ring-leaders. 

This  episode  is  known  as  the  Zurich  "Night  of  Massacre." 
It  was  followed  by  acts  of  the  greatest  cruelty ;  eighteen  of 
the  prisoners  were  tortured  on  the  wheel,  and  seventeen 
decapitated,  their  names  all  being  enumerated  by  Eberhard 


144  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Mulner  in  his  account  of  the  massacre.  The  little  city  of 
Rapperswil  was  likewise  forced  into  submission,  the  castle 
destroyed,  and  many  houses  burned  to  the  ground.  Then 
Brun  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  an  army,  and  devastated 
the  whole  region  at  the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  called  the 
March,  which  was  a  fief  of  the  house  of  Austria  —  an  act  cal- 
culated to  aggravate  the  situation  very  perceptibly.  For,  as  a 
result,  Zurich  soon  found  itself  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  ene- 
mies, consisting  of  the  partisans  of  Austria  from  the  whole 
country  round  about. 

In  this  crisis  Brun  resorted  to  an  expedient  which  was  des- 
tined to  be  followed  by  far-reaching  consequences  in  Swiss 
history  —  he  sought  the  alliance  of  Austria's  hereditary  foe, 
the  Forest  States. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1351,  Zurich  concluded  a  perpetual 
league  with  Luzern,  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden,  thus  enter- 
ing the  Confederation  as  the  fifth  member. 

Heretofore  the  city  had  followed  the  dictates  of  self- 
interest  in  matters  of  foreign  policy  with  little  regard  for 
appearances,  casting  its  influence  now  on  one  side  now  on 
the  other  in  the  strife  between  Austria  and  the  Forest 
States.  Rudolf  of  Habsburg,  while  still  a  simple  Count, 
had  given  his  support  to  the  citizens  in  their  little  wars 
with  the  surrounding  nobles,  but  no  sooner  was  he  dead, 
than  we  find  them  joining  Uri  and  Schwiz  in  an  alliance 
against  his  descendants.  Again,  at  the  battle  of  Morgarten 
a  detachment  from  Zurich  fought  on  the  Austrian  side, 
some  of  these  soldiers  being  reported  as  killed  in  that 
famous  engagement. 

But  hereafter  Zurich  stood  pledged  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  Forest  States  against  Austria. 

The  contracting  parties  promised  each  other  to  render 
assistance  upon  receipt  of  a  warning  call,  as  in  the  league 
between  Luzern  and  the  three  States.  But  in  this  docu- 
ment a  definite  area  was  prescribed,  within  which  such 
assistance  could  be  claimed.  It  was  bounded  on  the  south 


ZURICH.  145 

and  west  by  the  river  Aar,  from  its  source  on  the  Grimsel 
Pass  to  its  mouth;  on  the  north  by  the  Rhine;  on  the 
east  by  a  line  which  followed  the  river  Thur  from  its 
mouth  to  its  source,  crossed  over  to  the  St.  Gothard  group, 
and  back  again  to  the  Grimsel.  In  this  surprisingly  wide 
area  were  included  all  the  roads  and  passes  which  were  of 
commercial  importance  to  the  Confederates. 

The  Abbey  of  Einsiedeln  was  selected  as  a  convenient 
place  of  meeting  in  case  of  consultations  or  of  quarrels 
between  Zurich  and  the  Forest  States.  Arbitration  was  to 
be  the  method  of  adjusting  disputes. 

Two  clauses  in  the  league  deserve  especial  notice : 

The  first  stipulated  that  the  contracting  parties  reserved 
to  themselves  the  right  of  entering  into  separate  alliances, 
if  they  saw  fit  to  do  so,  although  the  present  league  was  to 
precede  all  others.  The  second,  that  the  Four  Forest  States 
must  pledge  themselves  to  help  maintain  the  then  existing 
form  of  government  in  Zurich,  if  their  assistance  toward 
this  end  should  be  requested. l 

The  hand  of  Brun  can  be  distinctly  traced  in  the  framing 
of  these  two  clauses.  They  were  unmistakably  to  his  per- 
sonal advantage.  For,  if  at  any  time  an  opportunity 
presented  itself  of  effecting  a  reconciliation  with  Austria, 
he  could  manage  to  do  so  without  violating  the  letter  of 
the  league  by  virtue  of  the  first  clause.  Or,  again,  if  danger 
arose  from  within  the  city,  from  any  attempts  to  restore  the 
old  system  of  government,  Brun  could  array  the  whole 
strength  of  the  Four  States  against  any  such  movement  by 
virtue  of  the  second. 

In  passing  judgment  upon  the  general  value  and  purport 
of  the  above  document,  the  fatal  weakness  of  allowing  the 
parties  to  enter  into  separate  alliances,  becomes  at  once 
apparent.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  Forest  States 
could  have  been  persuaded  to  have  such  a  permission 
inserted,  especially  as  this  question  had  been  so  carefully 

1Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.     p.  86. 


146  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

settled  in  the  Luzern  League.  Considered  from  the  point 
of  view  of  statesmanship,  the  clause  was  a  mistake,  and  was 
certain  to  cause  dissensions  sooner  or  later  amongst  the 
Confederates.  That  the  league  was  not  a  perfectly  impar- 
tial instrument  is  further  shown  by  the  fact  that,  although 
Zurich's  present  form  of  government  was  virtually  guaranteed 
by  the  Forest  States,  the  reverse  was  by  no  means  true, 
i.  e.  Zurich  was  under  no  obligations  whatever  to  uphold 
the  constitutions  of  the  Forest  States. 

But,  in  treating  of  the  constitutional  enactments  of  the  early 
Swiss,  one  must  remember  that  they  did  not  draw  up  their 
agreements  in  accordance  with  any  regular  theories  of  govern- 
ment. They  did  not  consciously  base  them  upon  the  study 
either  of  historical  precedents  or  of  philosophical  systems ;  on 
the  contrary  their  acts  were  experiments,  and  in  their  leagues 
they  embodied  only  those  principles  which  experience  had 
demonstrated  to  be  sound  and  feasible.  Their  statecraft  was 
crude,  according  to  modern  standards,  their  blunders  costly. 
But  they  were  solving  the  perplexing  problems  of  federalism, 
as  a  system  of  government,  without  help  or  example.  They 
had  yet  to  learn  that  their  union  must  be  complete  and  abso- 
lute to  be  enduring.  Nor  could  they  foresee  the  greatness  of 
the  structure  they  were  erecting,  or  appreciate  the  importance 
of  making  its  foundations  so  exceptionally  secure. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

GLARUS     AND     ZUG. 

WAR  followed  close  upon  Zurich's  union  with  the  Four 
Forest  States,  a  long-drawn,  wearisome  contest  with 
the  Dukes  of  Austria,  and  at  times  even  with  the  sovereign  of 
the  German  Empire.  During  this  period  Zurich  was  thrice 
besieged,  each  time  with  indifferent  success,  three  formal 
declarations  of  peace  were  signed,  and  three  new  members 
added  to  the  Confederation,  so  that  in  the  end  the  war  was  not 
barren  of  results. 

But  the  perusal  of  this  desultory  warfare,  full  of  uninterest- 
ing details,  is  by  no  means  an  agreeable  task,  nor  the  duty  of 
the  writer  an  easy  one  to  present  the  salient  features  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  leave  a  distinct  impression  upon  the  mind  of 
the  reader. 

Duke  Albrecht,  surnamed  the  Wise  or  the  Lame,  felt  that 
the  recent  behavior  of  Zurich  toward  his  kinsman,  the  Count 
of  Rapperswil,  who  was  still  in  prison,  called  for  prompt  meas- 
ures. In  punishing  Zurich  he  hoped  also  to  strike  a  blow  at 
the  Forest  States,  thus  settling  an  account  of  long  standing, 
which  had  accumulated  since  the  humiliating  defeat  at  Mor- 
garten.  Luzern's  action  in  joining  the  victors  only  served  to 
intensify  his  feeling  of  bitterness,  so  that  to  him  the  approach- 
ing conflict  seemed  a  day  of  reckoning,  which  had  already 
been  too  long  deferred. 

But  no  sooner  had  he  gathered  an  army  around  Zurich  than 
he  was  himself  called  away  to  Vienna  by  the  death  of  his  wife. 
After  a  fruitless  effort  at  reconciliation  the  besiegers  dis- 

147 


148          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

banded,  and  the  Confederates  turned  the  tables  upon  them 
by  taking  the  offensive  against  the  partisans  of  Austria  in  all 
directions. 

It  was  on  one  of  their  flying  expeditions,  that  the  Confeder- 
ates marched  into  the  valley  of  Glarus,  and  won  over  the 
inhabitants  to  their  cause  against  Austria,  the  mutual  enemy. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Glarus  had  of  necessity  been  influenced 
by  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of  the  Forest  States  from  the 
very  earliest  times.  Not  only  was  it  connected  with  Uri  by  the 
Urner  Boden,  and  with  Schwiz  by  the  Pragel  Pass,  but  it  had 
also  suffered  with  them  from  the  same  harsh  and  grasping  pol- 
icy on  the  part  of  the  house  of  Habsburg-Austria.  Especially 
is  there  a  truly  extraordinary  resemblance  between  the  physical 
features  of  Glarus  and  Uri,  and  their  historical  development. 

On  the  map  each  appears  as  a  long  valley,  walled  in  on 
either  hand  with  lofty  mountain  ranges;  the  length  of  these 
two  valleys  is  almost  identical  and  they  run  in  parallel  lines 
toward  the  north  ;  each  is  blocked  at  its  southern  extremity 
by  a  great  mountain  group,  Glarus  by  the  Todi  and  Uri  by  the 
St.  Gothard ;  and  each  opens  out  upon  a  lake  at  its  northern 
end,  the  former  upon  the  Walensee,  the  latter  upon  the  lake 
of  Luzern. 

The  similarity  in  their  early  history  is  simply  astonishing. 

Glarus,  the  name  being  probably  a  corruption  of  Hilarius, 
the  patron  saint  of  the  valley,  was  deeded  at  some  unknown 
date  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  centuries  to  the  Abbey  of  Nuns  at 
Seckingen  on  the  Rhine,  probably  by  one  of  the  German  sov- 
ereigns. It  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  the  immunity  by  virtue 
of  its  position  as  ecclesiastical  property.  The  steward  of 
Seckingen  administered  the  higher  justice,  while  a  Mayor 
adjudged  lesser  cases.  There  was  the  same  diversity  of  polit- 
ical conditions  in  Glarus  as  in  Uri,  of  native  nobles,  simple  free- 
men, and  serfs ;  but  all  alike  shared  in  the  Almend  and  were 
required  to  attend  court,  which  was  held  under  the  oak  at  the 
village  of  Glarus  —  in  valle  Clarona  sub  quercu,  as  was  written 
on  the  sentences  which  were  there  delivered.  In  time  the 


GLARUS  AND  ZUG.  149 

office  of  Mayor  ceased  to  be  awarded  to  strangers,  and  even 
became  hereditary  in  the  native  family  of  Tschudi. 

But  with  the  growth  of  the  Habsburg  power,  a  change  came 
over  the  condition  of  Glarus.  While  still  a  simple  count, 
Rudolf  of  Habsburg  had  inherited  the  office  of  Steward  of 
Seckingen,  and  during  his  reign  as  emperor  had  persuaded  the 
Abbess  to  award  the  office  of  Mayor  to  his  sons.  As  a  result 
Glarus  lost  the  advantages  accruing  from  the  immunity,  and 
practically  became  the  personal  property  of  the  family  of 
H  absburg- Au  stria. 

That  the  inhabitants  deeply  resented  these  changes  as  injuri- 
ous to  their  liberties,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  when 
they  were  summoned  to  join  the  Austrian  forces  at  Morgarten, 
they  absolutely  refused  to  do  so.  They  seized  the  opportunity 
of  putting  on  record  a  protest  against  their  anomalous  position, 
declaring  in  no  uncertain  terms  that  they  were  the  subjects  of 
the  Abbess  of  Seckingen,  not  of  Austria ;  that  she  alone  could 
call  them  to  arms,  and  that  they  had  no  part  in  Austria's 
quarrels. 

In  order  to  offset  the  latter's  power,  Glarus  entered  into  a 
temporary  alliance  with  Schwiz,  in  1323,  her  sympathies  for 
the  Forest  States  growing  as  Austria's  enmity  became  more 
pronounced.  When,  therefore,  the  Confederates  burst  into 
the  valley,  in  1351,  they  found  a  population  exasperated  by 
bad  treatment,  and  ready  to  make  common  cause  with  them. 

On  the  4th  of  June,  1352,  Glarus  concluded  a  perpetual 
league  with  Zurich,  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden,  thus  becom- 
ing the  sixth  member  of  the  Confederation.  Luzern,  for  rea- 
sons which  are  not  clear,  decided  not  to  take  part  in  this  new 
compact. 

As  for  the  document  drawn  up  on  this  occasion,  it  makes 
an  unfortunate  departure  in  the  relations  between  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Confederation.  Glarus  was  assigned  a  distinctly 
inferior  position  and  given  no  voice  whatever  in  matters  of 
common  interest.  It  was  agreed,  for  instance,  that  if  Glarus 
was  threatened  by  any  danger,  it  should  issue  the  customary 


150  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

summons,  but  the  Confederates  were  not  bound  to  render  aid 
if,  upon  examination  they  found  that  the  grievance  complained 
of  did  not  in  their  opinion  justify  armed  interference.  On  the 
other  hand  the  new  member  was  pledged  to  respond  to  every 
official  call  for  help  from  the  other  Confederates,  without 
investigation.  To  this  manifest  injustice  was  added  the  fur- 
ther one  that,  whereas  Zurich,  Uri,  Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden 
were  privileged  to  contract  separate  alliances  without  the 
knowledge  or  consent  of  Glarus,  the  latter  was  strictly  forbid- 
to  do  the  same  thing.  Special  places  were  then  selected  where 
disputes  between  the  various  contracting  parties  could  be  ami- 
cably settled.1 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  men  who  framed  the 
above  contract  had  any  perception  of  the  danger  which  inhered 
in  so  biased  an  organization.  The  five  Confederated  States 
doubtless  argued  that  a  community  which  had  been  rescued 
from  Austrian  tyranny  by  their  exertions,  ought  to  be  content 
to  take  up  a  subordinate  position.  They  could  not  realize  the 
evil  character  of  the  precedent  they  had  set,  nor  foresee  the 
misunderstandings  which  their  example  was  destined  to  foster 
amid  the  Confederates  of  the  future. 

A  few  days  after  the  admission  of  Glarus,  the  victorious 
army  proceeded  to  take  possession  of  a  strip  of  land,  also  sub- 
ject to  Austria,  which  by  reason  of  its  position,  was  of  the 
utmost  strategic  value  to  both  sides  in  the  present  war.  This 
was  the  little  district  of  Zug,  now  the  smallest  of  the  Swiss 
Cantons.  Reference  to  the  map  will  show  that  it  enters  like  a 
wedge  between  Zurich  and  the  Forest  States,  and  in  the  hands 
of  a  hostile  power  would  effectually  separate  their  armies,  mak- 
ing joint  operations  extremely  difficult.  The  Confederates 
were  fully  alive  to  this  danger  when  they  entered  Zug,  nor 
were  they  altogether  indifferent  to  the  fertility  of  the  country, 
for  it  is  a  land  of  soft  contours,  where  views  of  green  fields  and 
smiling  orchards  alternate  with  lake  scenery  of  a  peculiarly 
lovely  description  —  the  home  of  peaceful  charms  and  rustic 
contentment. 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.     p.  92. 


GLARUS  AND  ZUG.  151 

What  is  now  comprised  by  the  Canton  was  at  that  time 
divided  into  two  parts  —  the  city  proper  of  Zug,  which  enjoyed 
regular  municipal  privileges,  and  the  surrounding  country, 
the  so-called  Outer  District,  comprising  the  communities  of 
Baar,  Menzingen  and  Aegeri.  Austria  had  absorbed  the 
entire  government  of  these  two  parts.  The  townsmen  did 
not  surrender  until  after  a  siege  of  fifteen  days,  while  the 
country  people  submitted  willingly,  being  already  heartily  in 
sympathy  with  the  Confederates.  According  to  Eberhard 
Miilner,  the  townsmen  had,  in  fact,  sent  messengers  to  Duke 
Albrecht,  entreating  him  to  send  help,  but  had  received  an 
evasive  answer. 

On  the  2/th  of  June,  1352,  the  city  and  district  of  Zug  con- 
cluded a  perpetual  league  with  Zurich,  Luzern,  Uri,  Schwiz, 
and  Unterwalden,  thereby  entering  the  Confederation  as  the 
seventh  member.  The  name  of  Glarus  does  not  appear 
amongst  the  contracting  parties.  The  document  itself  was 
copied  almost  word  for  word  from  the  one  signed  at  Zurich's 
admission,  and  secured  to  Zug  a  position  equal  in  all  respects 
to  the  other  Confederates.1 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  Duke  Albrecht 
allowed  these  victories  to  pass  unnoticed.  As  soon  as  he 
could  return  to  the  scene  of  operations,  he  straightway  began 
to  make  preparations  for  a  grand  assault  upon  Zurich  and  her 
allies,  securing  the  services  of  some  great  nobles,  such  as  the 
Margrave  Ludwig  of  Brandenburg  and  Count  Eberhard  of 
Wiirttemburg.  The  latter  was  entrusted  with  the  supreme 
command,  for  Duke  Albrecht  himself  appears  to  have  been 
incapacitated  for  the  work  of  military  leadership  by  bodily 
infirmity. 

Somehow  this  large  army  accomplished  very  little  against 
Zurich.  The  city  was  strongly  fortified  and  ably  defended, 
and  the  siege  languished  unaccountably  until  finally  the  Count 
of  Wiirttemburg  discovered  that  a  party  in  his  camp  had  been 
making  secret  overtures  of  peace.  He  therefore  withdrew, 
the  attacking  force  gradually  disbanded,  and  the  Margrave  of 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.     p.  95. 


152          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Brandenburg  was  entrusted  with  the  task  of  drawing  up  arti- 
cles of  peace  with  the  Confederates. 

Contrary  to  what  might  have  been  expected  the  so-called 
peace  of  Brandenburg  proved  to  be  a  pronounced  diplomatic 
success  for  Austria.  Both  parties  pledged  themselves  to 
restore  all  territory  gained  in  the  course  of  the  war,  thus  Gla- 
rus  and  Zug  once  more  became  subject  to  the  enemy,  although 
their  leagues  with  the  Confederates  were  not  finally  repealed. 
Luzern  also  agreed  to  submit  to  the  Austrian  dominion,  as  it 
had  existed  before  the  war.  Even  Schwiz  and  Unterwalden 
guaranteed  the  inviolability  of  the  proprietary  rights  of  Habs- 
burg  within  their  borders.  The  Confederates  were  for  the 
future  not  to  enter  into  alliance  with  Austrian  subjects. 
Count  John  of  Rapperswil  was  finally  released  from  prison, 
and  Zurich  even  paid  a  large  sum  for  return  of  hostages, 
which  the  city  had  given  Duke  Albrecht  in  the  course  of  the 
war. 

Such  conditions  are  set  by  victors  to  the  vanquished,  not 
by  equals  to  equals,  as  the  combatants  had  proved  themselves 
to  be.  One  is  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  tone  of  these  arti- 
cles, which  seem  to  take  for  granted  that  the  Confederates  had 
been  defeated. 

Perhaps  Brun's  ambition  was  at  fault.  His  desire  for  a 
reconciliation  with  Austria  was  at  times  thrust  into  the  back- 
ground by  the  exigencies  of  Zurich's  position,  but  it  was  never 
wholly  abandoned,  for  he  was  always  willing  to  sacrifice  the 
interests  of  his  Confederate  allies,  if  he  could  but  make  sure 
of  Austria's  friendship. 

A  peaceful  moment  followed  the  conclusion  of  this  treaty, 
a  lull  in  the  hostilities,  during  which  the  Confederation,  as 
though  to  make  up  for  the  diplomatic  defeat  just  sustained, 
was  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  a  new  member  —  Bern. 
The  city,  which  is  to-day  the  capital  of  Switzerland,  and  was 
already  then  a  military  stronghold  of  recognized  importance 
on  the  confines  of  ancient  Burgundy  and  Alamannia,  came  as 
a  welcome  friend  in  time  of  need.  Nor  was  Bern's  admission 


GLARUS  AND  ZUG.  153 

in  any  sense  a  violation  of  that  article  of  the  peace  of  Branden- 
burg which  forbade  the  Confederation  to  contract  alliances 
with  the  subjects  of  Austria,  since  Bern  was  a  free  city  of  the 
empire  in  no  way  subject  to  that  power. 

Before  considering  the  immediate  results  of  this  act,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  review  Bern's  growth  from  an  obscure  fort- 
ress into  a  prosperous  city,  keeping  in  mind  that  the  struggle 
between  the  Confederates  and  Austria  was  by  no  means  at  an 
end,  a  struggle  which  has  been  justly  described  at  the  opening 
of  the  chapter  as  long  drawn  and  wearisome. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


BERN. 


WHILE  Ziirich  was  fast  becoming  the  controlling  power 
in  the  East  of  the  region  now  known  as  Switzerland, 
Bern  was  beginning  to  occupy  a  similar  position  in  the  West. 

But  it  is  interesting  to  notice  how  the  different  causes  which 
gave  rise  to  the  two  cities,  also  left  a  peculiar  impression  upon 
the  character  of  their  inhabitants,  and  seemed  from  the  first 
to  give  them  different  missions  to  fulfill.  Zurich  grew  to 
importance  as  a  centre  of  trade,  and  its  population  was 
engaged  for  the  most  part  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  manu- 
facturing and  commerce,  but  Bern  was  founded  by  Berchtold 
V.,  Duke  of  Zaeringen,  to  be  a  military  stronghold  and  bul- 
wark against  aggressive  neighbors,  so  that  the  Bernese  were 
by  nature  more  inclined  to  war,  always  displaying  the  greatest 
confidence  in  their  own  martial  powers.  This  characteristic 
trait  serves  to  explain  more  than  one  peculiarity  in  the  general 
history  of  the  city. 

Bern  came  into  possession  of  the  Reichsunmittelbarkeit  at 
the  extinction  of  the  family  of  Zaeringen,  probably  because  the 
soil  on  which  it  stood  belonged  to  the  empire.  The  earliest 
charter  which  has  reached  us,  the  basis  of  Bern's  municipal 
government,  is  the  Goldene  Handveste,  so-called  because  of  the 
seal  of  beaten  gold  which  is  attached  to  it.  When  the  citizens 
laid  this  document  before  Rudolf  of  Habsburg,  in  1274,  for  his 
confirmation,  they  claimed  that  it  had  been  granted  to  them  by 
Frederic  II.,  in  1218.  Historians  now  generally  doubt  the 
accuracy  of  this  statement,  and  are  inclined  to  think  that  the 
Handveste  simply  represented  a  body  of  law  which  had  accu- 

154 


BERN.  155 

mulated  since  Frederic's  time.  However  that  may  be,  Rudolf 
undoubtedly  gave  his  sanction  to  its  various,  provisions. 

In  many  respects  it  presents  an  excellent  picture  of  a  pecul- 
iar kind  of  municipal  government  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

In  the  first  place  the  imperial  immunity  is  assured  to  the 
city  as  well  as  exemption  from  all  imperial  taxation  except  an 
annual  homestead  tax.  The  citizens  are  allowed  a  mint  and 
market  of  their  own,  and  the  privilege  of  electing  all  their 
municipal  officers,  from  the  Schultheiss  to  the  Sheriff.  By 
an  exceptional  arrangement  the  Schultheiss  had  exercised  for 
many  years  all  the  powers  which  naturally  belonged  to  the 
imperial  bailiff,  although  officials  with  the  later  title  appeared 
in  Bern  until  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  so  that 
this  privilege  of  election  in  reality  meant  a  great  deal  to  the 
citizens.  Furthermore,  they  were  not  to  be  required  to  render 
military  assistance  at  any  place  so  far  removed  that  they  could 
not  return  to  their  homes  the  following  night.  Suitable  quar- 
ters must  be  provided  for  the  sovereign's  suite,  whenever  he 
visited  the  city.  Subsequent  articles  deal  with  the  right  of 
holding  real  estate,  with  the  acquirement  of  citizenship  (Bilr- 
gerrecht),  and  the  administration  of  justice.  Minute  regula- 
tions follow  relating  to  criminal  law,  especially  to  the  settling 
of  wrongs  by  duel.  Every  male  who  had  completed  his  four- 
teenth year  could  exercise  the  rights  of  a  citizen,  and  was  at 
that  age  required  to  swear  fealty  to  the  city  and  the  empire.1 

In  1295,  Bern's  municipal  government  was  altered  by  the 
introduction  of  certain  popular  reforms.  In  addition  to  the 
Schultheiss  and  council  of  twelve,  a  sort  of  board  of  control 
of  sixteen  was  to  be  chosen  from  the  four  wards  of  the  city. 
This  body  was  in  turn  empowered  to  elect  a  common  council 
of  two  hundred.  Artisans,  hitherto  unrepresented,  were  eli- 
gible to  the  board  of  control  and  common  council,  but  guilds, 
as  they  existed  in  Zurich,  were  strictly  forbidden.  In  spite  of 
these  reforms,  the  government  remained  essentially  aristo- 
cratic and  military,  while  the  tendency  of  Zurich  was  mani- 
festly democratic  and  industrial. 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.     p.  27. 


156  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Bern  was  now  fully  equipped  for  carrying  out  some  definite 
policy  in  the  fertile  Aar  valley  in  which  it  was  situated,  and 
this  policy  was  one  of  conquest  and  aggression,  as  might  be 
expected.  It  was  the  aim  of  the  city  to  unite  the  towns  and 
communities  of  the  valley  into  one  Commonwealth,  to  create 
a  little  republic. 

History  shows  that  this  plan  was  successful  in  the  end,  but 
not  until  many  years  had  passed  and  much  blood  had  flowed, 
for  here,  as  elsewhere  in  Switzerland,  the  efforts  of  the  people 
to  unite  in  leagues  was  opposed  by  the  great  common  enemy, 
Habsburg-Austria.  Indeed  the  history  of  the  Aar  valley  for 
the  next  hundred  years  and  more  is  the  history  of  the  struggle 
between  the  partisans  of  Bern  and  Austria  for  the  mastery. 
It  was  a  struggle,  in  which  the  rising  city,  in  spite  of  occa- 
sional reverses,  gained  steadily  against  the  feudal  nobles,  and 
in  so  far  aided  the  cause  of  the  people  against  their  oppressors. 

Bern's  foreign  policy  had,  up  to  this  time,  vacillated 
between  adherence  to  Savoy  and  Habsburg;  hereafter,  it  was 
to  be  marked  by  a  vigorous  independence. 

In  1243,  a  perpetual  league  had  been  concluded  with  Fri- 
bourg,  and  on  different  occasions  since  then  temporary  alli- 
ances had  been  formed  with  Luzern,  with  the  bishop  of  Sion, 
the  valley  of  Hasle,  and  the  city  of  Solothurn.  But  in  1298, 
Fribourg,  having  become  a  confirmed  partisan  of  Austria, 
renounced  its  friendship  with  Bern,  and  made  an  attack  upon 
the  city  with  the  help  of  certain  noblemen.  The  Bernese 
anticipating  the  assault,  marched  forth  from  their  walls,  drove 
the  enemy  from  the  position  they  had  taken  on  the  so-called 
Dornbiihl,  and  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  them  further 
on  at  Oberwangen.  Following  up  this  victory,  the  citizens 
destroyed  many  of  the  neighboring  castles,  renewed  alliances 
under  advantageous  terms  with  old  friends,  or  formed  treaties 
with  new  ones. 

In  1308,  followed  a  perpetual  league  with  the  city  of  Solo- 
thurn, at  that  time  enjoying  the  position  of  a  free  city  of  the 
empire. 


BEEN.  157 

Solothurn,  was  the  ancient  Helveto-Roman  Salodurum, 
risen  from  the  ruins  into  which  it  had  fallen  at  the  time  of 
the  invasion  of  the  Alamanni.  As  the  seat  of  an  institute  of 
Canons,  dedicated  to  St.  Ursus,  a  martyr  of  the  Theban  legion, 
the  place  won  considerable  renown  in  the  tenth  century.  It 
possessed  the  Reichsunmittelbarkeit,  and  the  citizens  seem  to 
have  acquired  the  right  of  electing  their  Schultheiss  and  coun- 
cil, but  by  steps  which  are  not  yet  clearly  understood. 

In  the  meantime,  Austria  was  carrying  out  a  plan  of 
aggrandizement  in  another  quarter.  By  one  means  or  another 
that  power  obtained  control  of  the  line  of  communication 
between  Bern  and  the  Forest  States  by  way  of  Thun,  Unter- 
seen,  and  the  Briinig  Pass. 

A  branch  of  the  family  of  Kiburg  had  its  seat  at  Thun,  but 
was  now  fast  sinking  under  financial  difficulties  into  utter  help- 
lessness. Hartmann,  the  elder  brother,  sided  with  Austria, 
while  Eberhard,  the  younger,  looked  to  Bern  to  give  him  the 
leadership  in  the  family.  On  the  night  of  All  Saints,  1322, 
the  two  brothers  quarrelled  while  discussing  their  affairs  in 
the  Castle  of  Thun,  flew  to  arms,  and  Hartmann  was  killed  in 
the  resulting  scuffle. 

This  was  the  signal  for  the  rival  supporters  of  Kiburg,  Bern 
and  Austria,  to  strain  every  nerve  in  order  to  gain  control 
over  the  remaining  brother.  A  period  of  the  utmost  confu- 
sion ensued.  In  1323,  Bern  sought  the  alliance  of  the  Forest 
States,  an  important  event  in  Swiss  history,  although  its  last- 
ing consequences  were  not  immediately  apparent.  In  1332,  a 
regular  war  broke  out  for  the  possession  of  Giimminen,  a 
stronghold  of  strategic  value  to  the  rival  powers. 

Bern  was  feeling  the  exaltation  of  success,  and  strode  from 
one  conquest  to  another.  The  eyes  of  her  martial  citizens 
were  now  turned  upon  the  Oberland,  that  district  of  unmatched 
grandeur  to  which  modern  tourists  now  flock  by  thousands 
every  year. 

In  the  first  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Oberland  was 
subject  to  a  variety  of  masters.  The  Lords  of  Weissenburg 


158  THE  RISE    OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

ruled  over  the  Simmenthal  and  the  valley  of  the  Hasle ;  the 
Counts  of  Gruyeres  possessed  the  upper  valley  of  the  Saane, 
(Sarine) ;  in  the  valley  of  the  Kander  at  Frutigen  were  the 
nobles,  Thurn  von  Gestelen,  natives  of  the  Valais;  and  at 
Spiez,  the  decaying  house  of  Strattlingen.  These  families 
were  closely  united  by  intermarriage,  and  acted  in  conjunction 
for  the  interests  of  Austria.  After  repeated  quarrels  with  the 
Lords  of  Weissenburg,  the  Bernese  finally,  in  1334,  attacked 
Wimmis,  took  it  by  storm,  and  destroyed  the  wall  (Letzi], 
which  blocked  the  entrance  to  the  valley.  The  nobles  of 
Weissenburg  were  forced  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  Bern  and 
to  become  citizens  of  the  city,  as  well  as  to  give  up  their 
rights  over  the  valley  of  Hasle.  This  peasant  community  had 
for  centuries  possessed  the  Reichsunmittelbarkeit',  an  Amm- 
ann,  elected  by  the  people  themselves,  or  chosen  from  their 
midst  by  the  Sovereign,  had  exercised  complete  jurisdiction. 
In  fact,  the  valley  of  the  Hasle  was  a  potential  Forest  State, 
and  would  doubtless  have  developed  into  an  independent  mem- 
ber of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  had  not  Henry  VII.  granted 
it  as  a  forfeit  to  the  Lords  of  Weissenburg,  in  1310.  Nor  was 
the  position  of  the  community  sensibly  improved,  when,  in 
1334,  the  possessions  of  those  nobles  passed  into  the  grasp  of 
Bern. 

But  these  events  were  watched  with  growing  anxiety  by  the 
partisans  of  Austria.  Little  by  little,  the  surrounding  nobles 
formed  themselves  into  a  coalition  inspired  by  one  thought, 
and  impelled  by  one  purpose,  to  overthrow  the  rising  commun- 
ity of  Burghers  in  Bern,  who  were  threatening  to  absorb  the 
whole  region  between  the  lakes  of  Geneva,  Morat,  and  Thun. 
In  this  task  they  found  Fribourg  a  willing  tool,  or  rather  a 
determined  leader,  for  this  city  was  devoured  by  a  jealousy 
which  grew  in  proportion  as  Bern  gained  new  territory 
and  overshadowed  her  sister  city  on  the  Sarine.  A  new 
element  in  the  strife  was  added  when  the  Emperor  Ludwig, 
whose  election  Bern  and  Solothurn  obstinately  refused  to 
acknowledge,  on  account  of  their  attachment  to  the  papal 


BERN.  159 

cause,  gave  his  sanction  to  the  efforts  of  the  nobles  to  crush 
the  disobedient  city.  This  new  complexion  of  affairs  gave  the 
coalition  the  moral  support  which  it  had  lacked  up  to  that 
time.  Bern  found  herself  almost  deserted.  The  city  could 
Only  count  upon  comparatively  small  contingents  from  the 
Oberland  and  from  the  Forest  States,  the  latter  being  pledged 
to  support  by  virtue  of  the  alliance  of  1323.  Solothurn,  threat- 
ened as  it  was  by  the  same  coalition,  could  only  send  a  handful 
of  men. 

Operations  began  with  an  incursion  into  Bernese  territory 
made  by  Count  Gerhard  of  Valengin.  Then  the  citizens  sent 
a  garrison  of  600  men  to  hold  Laupen,  which  was,  in  point  of 
fact,  the  key  to  their  defence.  The  garrison  was  to  defend 
that  stronghold  until  Bern  could  collect  its  allies  and  march  to 
the  rescue,  a  feat  of  endurance  which  was  safely  accomplished 
in  the  face  of  a  besieging  army,  estimated  at  16,000  infantry 
and  1,000  horsemen. 

On  the  2  ist  of  June,  1339,  the  Bernese  and  their  allies, 
numbering,  at  the  utmost,  6,000  men,  hastened  to  the  relief  of 
Laupen.  A  parish  priest,  Theobald  Baselwind,  accompanied 
them,  carrying  the  host  and  proclaiming  the  war  as  waged  in 
behalf  of  the  Pope  against  Emperor  Ludwig,  his  adversary. 
They  also  wore  white  crosses  as  symbols  of  their  holy  cause. 
After  traversing  a  forest  they  came  out  upon  the  height  of  the 
Bramberg,  and  saw  the  enemy  in  the  plain  below,  occupying  a 
position  between  them  and  Laupen. 

The  battle  began  in  the  afternoon  with  a  heavy  attack  of 
infantry,  led  by  the  men  of  Fribourg,  upon  their  hated  rivals 
of  the  city  of  Bern.  The  latter  seem  to  have  yielded  to  the 
onslaught  at  first,  but  quickly  recovering,  they  turned  and 
repulsed  the  enemy,  eventually  putting  the  whole  infantry  to 
flight.  In  the  meantime,  the  contingents  from  the  Forest 
States  had  been  waging  an  unequal  contest  with  the  hostile 
horsemen.  With  the  help  of  the  victorious  Bernese,  however, 
they  succeeded  in  routing  also  the  horsemen.  Thus  the  day 
was  won.  The  garrison  of  Laupen,  waiting  anxiously  to  learn 


160  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  result  of  the  battle,  was  liberated  with  joy.  The  Forest 
States,  on  their  part,  received  compensation  for  the  share  they 
had  taken  in  the  battle. 

In  the  camp  of  the  nobles  there  was  great  lamentation. 
Knights  had  come  from  Swabia,  Elsass,  the  Aargau,  and  Bur- 
gundy; their  loss  was  very  great.  There  perished  Count 
Louis  of  Vaud,  the  Count  of  Nidau,  of  Valengin,  and  John  of 
Maggenberg,  Schultheiss  of  Fribourg. 

Historical  criticism  has  been  much  busied  with  regard  to  the 
leadership  of  the  Bernese  troops  at  Laupen.  There  is  still  a 
question  whether  this  honor  must  be  ascribed  to  Rudolf 
von  Erlach,  or  to  the  ruling  Schultheiss,  John  von  Buben- 
berg.  The  name  of  the  leader  is  not  mentioned  in  the  old- 
est account  of  the  battle,  the  so-called  Conflictus  Laupensis, 
written  by  an  unknown  contemporary  citizen  of  Bern  in  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century ;  nor  in  the  Cronica  de 
Bcrno,  contained  in  the  annals  of  the  minster  of  St.  Vin- 
cent. Justinger  is  the  first  to  cite  Erlach  as  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  but  his  account  is  marred  by  certain  well- 
established  inaccuracies. 

A  particular  importance  attaches  to  this  battle  of  Laupen 
from  the  fact  that  it  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  Bernese 
to  co-operate  with  their  friends  of  the  Forest  States  against 
Austria.  It  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  the  East  and 
West  of  what  is  now  Switzerland  joined  hands  against  a 
common  enemy. 

Not  that  the  struggle  against  the  coalition  was  ended,  how- 
ever, for  a  desultory  warfare  was  maintained  until  1342,  when 
peace  was  definitely  established  with  the  Dukes  of  Austria. 

Finally,  in  1353,  came  the  admission  of  Bern  into  the  Swiss 
Confederation.  A  perpetual  league  was  concluded  with  Uri, 
Schwiz,  and  Unterwalden ;  Zurich  and  Luzern  alone,  of  the 
other  States,  taking  any  part  in  the  contract. 

The  document  setting  forth  the  agreements  made  on  this 
occasion  was  copied  in  part  from  the  league  concluded  between 
the  Forest  States  and  Zurich.  Minute  regulations  were  estab- 


BERN.  161 

lished  to  govern  the  issuing  of  a  warning  call,  in  case  of  dan- 
ger. There  was  also  a  provision,  resembling  the  one  in  the 
Ziirich  league,  which  virtually  pledged  the  Forest  States  to 
guarantee  the  inviolability  of  Bernese  territory,  although  Bern 
itself  made  no  corresponding  promise  to  them.  It  was  only 
another  case  of  short-sighted  injustice  on  the  part  of  the  early 
Confederates,  due,  in  a  great  measure,  to  Bern's  superior  diplo- 
macy and  prestige. 

As  for  the  rest,  the  general  tenor  of  this  document  indicated 
the  city's  desire  not  to  bind  itself  too  closely  to  the  policy  of 
the  allies,  but  rather  to  allow  a  wide  margin  for  plans  of  its 
own.  Zurich  and  Luzern  were  not  admitted  directly  into  this 
league,  but  it  was  agreed  that  in  case  the  Forest  States  were 
called  upon  to  help  Zurich  or  Luzern,  they  might  also  issue  a 
summons  to  Bern. 

For  the  present,  Bern's  entrance  into  the  Confederation  did 
not  lead  to  great  results.  The  city  took  care  not  to  become 
embroiled  in  the  intermittent  struggle  which  Zurich  and  the 
Forest  States  were  waging  against  Austria,  and  at  times  even 
against  the  emperor  himself;  a  struggle  which  had  not  yet 
come  to  an  end,  but  was  destined  to  be  crowned  by  a  triumph 
of  such  brilliancy  as  to  startle  the  medieval  world. 

Bern  thus  closed  the  list  of  the  Eight  States  which  com- 
posed the  early  Confederation.  One  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  years  were  to  elapse  before  another  member  was 
admitted. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

INVASION    OF    THE    GUGLER    AND    FEUD    WITH    KIBURG. 

WAR  begets  war,  and  victory  provokes  retaliation. 
Duke  Albrecht  was  not  satisfied  with  the  manner 
in  which  certain  articles  of  the  treaty  of  Brandenburg  were 
carried  out,  and,  therefore,  lodged  complaints  with  the  reign- 
ing King,  Charles  IV.,  desiring  him  to  interfere  in  his 
behalf.  As  a  result  the  latter  twice  appeared  in  person  at 
Zurich,  in  1353  and  1354,  in  order  to  bring  about  an  under- 
standing between  Austria  and  the  Confederation.  His 
efforts  were  all  in  vain.  The  citizens  of  Zurich  and  the 
delegates  of  the  Forest  States  there  assembled,  received  him 
with  all  the  honors  due  to  the  sovereign  of  the  empire,  but 
the  negotiations  failed  to  produce  satisfactory  results.  The 
demands  urged  by  Albrecht' s  councillors,  proved  altogether 
unreasonable,  and,  if  accepted,  would  have  rendered  null  and 
void  all  the  charters  and  leagues  upon  which  the  Confeder- 
ation was  based.  Seeing  that  peaceful  means  were  of  no 
avail,  Charles  IV.  and  Albrecht  prepared  to  lay  seige  to  Zurich. 
It  was  a  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  the  Confeder- 
ates, for  they  had  arrayed  against  them,  not  only  the  forces 
of  their  traditional  enemy,  but  also  those  of  the  head  of  the 
empire.  Their  fate  trembled  in  the  balance,  when  the  men 
of  Zurich  suddenly  extricated  themselves  from  this  predica- 
ment by  a  clever  strategem,  doubtless  suggested  by  their 
crafty  Biirgermeister  Brun.  The  Chronicler,  Miilner,  has 
described  it  in  the  following  words:  "As  now  they  lay 
before  our  city,  Zurich,  with  all  power  and  great  might,  we 
planted  high  the  imperial  banner,  and  told  the  emperor  that, 

162 


INVASION  OF  GUGLER—FEUD  WITH  KIBUBG.    163 

after  all,  we  belonged  to  none  but  the  Holy  Empire,  against 
which  we  would  never  act"1  With  this  stroke  the  besieg- 
ing army  was  dissolved,  as  if  by  magic.  Charles  could  not 
well  fight  against  his  own  banner,  after  this  open  submis- 
sion, and  was,  moreover,  delighted  at  any  excuse  for  abandon- 
ing his  thankless  task.  Albrecht,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
not  strong  enough  to  gain  a  decisive  battle  single-handed, 
and  was  obliged,  for  the  third  time,  to  retire  without  having 
been  able  to  punish  Zurich.  In  1355,  conditions  of  peace 
were  signed  at  Regensburg,  which  did  not  vary  essentially 
from  those  negotiated  by  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,, 
three  years  before.  In  fact,  Zurich  actually  entered  into  a 
separate  alliance  with  Austria  shortly  after,  and  Biirgermeis- 
ter  Brun  took  the  extraordinary  step  of  becoming  Privy 
Councillor  to  Duke  Albrecht,  in  return  for  a  handsome 
annual  pension. 

If  Brun  had  continued  to  direct  Zurich's  policy  much  longer, 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  young  Confederation  could 
have  held  together  at  all,  one  party  filled  with  traditional  dis- 
trust of  Austria,  and  the  other  tending  apparently  to  become 
steadily  more  submissive  to  the  dictates  of  that  power.  But 
another  era  dawned,  when  the  two  men,  who  had  contributed 
so  largely  to  this  anomalous  state  of  affairs,  followed  each 
other,  in  quick  succession,  into  the  grave.  Duke  Albrecht  suc- 
cumbed in  1358,  a  man  who,  as  Miilner  says  with  charming 
impartiality,  "had  done  much  harm  to  us  and  our  Confeder- 
ates. He  was  lame,  so  that  he  had  to  be  carried ;  nor  could 
he  ride  except  upon  a  horse-litter,  and  yet  was  an  earnest, 
brave  and  undaunted  man  and  master."2  Brun  only  survived 
him  two  years,  to  trouble  the  internal  peace  of  the  Confeder- 
ation by  his  absolute  and  abject  submission  to  Austria. 

Swiss  historians  have  had  a  good  deal  to  say  about  the  pri- 
vate character  and  public  life  of  this  first   Biirgermeister  — 
some  praising  him  for  his  clear  insight  into  the  peculiar  needs 

1  Oechsli,  W.   Quellenbuch,  p.  99. 
2  Dandliker,  K.     Geschichte.     p.  482. 


164  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

of  his  native  city,  and  others  calling  him  nothing  short  of  a 
traitor  to  the  cause  of  the  Confederation.  It  is  now  generally 
conceded  that  he  does  not  quite  deserve  so  ugly  a  name.  In 
the  light  of  subsequent  events,  his  conduct  certainly  appears 
disloyal  to  the  interests  of  the  Confederates,  but,  considering 
the  dangers  which  beset  Zurich  in  his  day,  and  the  purely  local 
conception  of  patriotism  which  was  characteristic  of  the  mid- 
dle ages,  his  offence  seems  less  inexcusable  than  one  might  sup- 
pose. Brun  was,  undoubtedly,  a  diplomatist  of  talent,  a  born 
executive  officer,  but  he  was  not  what  the  world  calls  great. 
He  lacked  the  perception  of  broad  principles.  He  did  not 
realize  the  position  to  which  the  Confederation  would  be  called, 
or  else  he  would  have  thrown  the  whole  of  his  energy  into  the 
effort  to  develop  it,  instead  of  wasting  his  life  in  intrigue  with 
Austria. 

It  seemed,  at  last,  that  the  Confederates  could  start  afresh 
with  a  distinct  national  policy.  Charles  IV.,  having  quarreled 
with  Duke  Rudolf  IV.,  Albrecht's  successor,  confirmed  all  the 
charters  and  leagues  of  the  various  States.  In  1364,  the  men 
of  Schwiz  reconquered  Zug  from  Austria,  and  in  1368,  that 
power  was  forced  to  agree  to  the  conditions  imposed  upon  it 
by  the  peace  of  Thorberg. 

If  anything  could  demonstrate  the  reawakening  of  the  Con- 
federates to  a  full  appreciation  of  their  common  interests,  it 
was  the  so-called  Priest's  Charter  (Pfaffenbrief),  an  instrument 
to  which  they  all  subscribed,  except  Bern  and  Glarus.  Its 
special  provisions  will  be  dealt  with  in  another  chapter ;  suffice 
it  here  to  relate  the  incident  from  which  it  arose. 

It  appears  that  the  Schultheiss  of  Luzern,  Peter  von  Gun- 
doldingen,  was  returning,  in  the  autumn  of  1370  with  several 
companions,  from  the  annual  fair  in  Zurich,  when  he  was 
seized  by  order  of  Bruno  Brun,  a  son  of  the  late  Biirger- 
meister,  with  whom  he  was  involved  in  a  lawsuit.  Bruno 
Brun  was,  at  that  time,  Provost  of  the  Grossmtinster  and  a 
zealous  partisan  of  Austria,  like  his  father.  Although  the 
affair  was  evidently  a  case  of  private  revenge,  it,  nevertheless, 


INVASION  OF  GUGLER  —  FEUD  WITH  KIBURG.    165 

created  a  great  sensation  throughout  the  land,  on  account  of 
the  prominent  personages  who  figured  in  it.  Public  opinion 
branded  it  as  an  offence  against  the  sovereignty  of  Luzern ;  as 
a  violation  of  the  holy  peace  of  markets,  without  which  com- 
merce would  become  an  impossibility;  and  as  the  result  of 
Austrian  influence.  In  face  of  this  popular  storm,  Bruno  Brun 
attempted  to  escape  punishment  by  appealing  to  an  ecclesias- 
tical court,  but  thereby  merely  precipitated  a  revolutionary 
movement  in  Zurich,  which  led  to  a  democratic  amendment  in 
the  city  constitution,  known  as  the  Zweitene  Geschworene 
Brief  (Second  Sworn  Brief),  and  eventually  to  an  agreement 
amongst  the  Confederates,  which  they  called  the  Priest's 
Charter,  from  the  peculiar  cause  of  its  origin. 

In  1375,  an  unforeseen  disaster  spread  terror  and  misery 
over  certain  districts  of  the  Confederation.  A  noted  free 
lance,  Enguerrand  (Ingram)  de  Coucy,  called  upon  the  Duke 
of  Austria  to  pay  him  a  sum  of  money  which  was.  due  to  his 
mother,  Catherine  of  Austria,  daughter  of  that  Duke  Leopold 
I.,  who  had  been  defeated  at  Morgarten.  His  demands  not 
being  complied  with,  he  determined  to  seize  certain  towns  in 
the  Aargau,  which  had  originally  been  named  as  security  for 
the  payment  of  the  sum  in  question.  For  this  purpose  he 
gathered  about  him  a  vast  army,  estimated  at  between  40,000 
and  50,000,  consisting  principally  of  mercenaries,  who  had  been 
thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  cessation  of  hostilities  be- 
tween England  and  France.  Amongst  them,  also,  a  sprinkling 
of  Welshmen,  notably  the  redoubtable  warrior,  levan  ap  Ey- 
nion,  who  had  been  fighting  against  the  English.  The  peasants 
styled  the  invaders  Englishmen,  or  gave  them  the  nickname  of 
Gugler,  on  account  of  the  cowls  (Kugelkute)  many  of  them  wore. 

Enguerrand  de  Coucy  entered  the  Aargau  by  way  of  Basel, 
crossed  the  Jura,  and  then  allowed  his  troops  to  rove  about  far 
and  wide  over  the  plains,  plundering  and  devastating  with 
remorseless  ardor.  For  a  moment  the  whole  country  seemed 
at  their  mercy,  especially  as  the  Austrian  officials  offered  no 
resistance.  Then  the  people  rose  in  self-defence.  There  was 


166  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

a  bloody  engagement  at  Buttisholz,  where,  to  this  day,  a  hillock 
still  goes  by  the  name  of  Englander  Huge!,  and  finally  the 
Bernese  surprised  a  large  detachment  of  the  enemy  at  the 
monastery  of  Fraubrunnen,  in  a  night  attack.  The  survivors 
were  forced  to  retire  from  the  country  after  this  defeat,  and 
the  war  was  over. 

As  for  the  rest,  the  invasion  of  the  Gugler,  although  it 
created  a  great  sensation  at  the  time,  was  not  productive  of 
lasting  results.  A  disturbance  in  another  quarter  soon  de- 
manded the  attention  of  the  Confederates. 

The  process  of  decay  which  had  overtaken  the  once  power- 
ful family  of  Kiburg  has  already  been  noticed  in  a  previous 
chapter.  .In  1382,  *  however,  Count  Rudolf,  a  grandson  of 
Eberhard,  the  fratricide,  made  a  last  and  desperate  attempt 
to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  his  house  by  an  attack  upon  Solo- 
thurn,  with  which  city  he  had  been  involved  in  a  long-drawn 
lawsuit.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  settling  this  dispute  with 
the  sword,  in  true  knight-errant  fashion ;  then,  if  successful  in 
his  undertakings,  of  extending  his  conquests  over  Bern  and 
neighboring  cities.  Fortunately,  the  plan  was  betrayed  and 
Solothurn  was  saved,  but  so  general  was  the  indignation 
aroused  by  the  mere  possibility  of  this  dastardly  act,  that  Sol- 
othurn, Bern,  and  contingents  from  the  Forest  States  laid  siege 
to  Burgdorf  and  Olten,  the  principal  towns  in  the  Kiburg  pos- 
sessions. It  is  true  they  were  not  immediately  successful  in 
punishing  the  Count,  for  Austria  came  to  his  aid,  contrary  to 
express  agreement,  but  later,  at  a  conference  held  in  Bern, 
Rudolf  of  Kiburg  agreed  to  sell  Burgdorf  and  Thun  to  the 
Bernese,  thus  accelerating  the  downfall  of  his  house,  which  now 
sank  into  insignificance,  and  became  extinct  in  1415. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    SEMPACH.1 

THAT  growth  of  unity,  of  a  national  policy  amongst  the 
Confederates,  which  had  reasserted  itself  after  Brim's 
death,  now  became  continually  more  apparent,  and,  as  before, 
took  the  shape  of  hostility  toward  Austria.  A  long  list  of 
grievances  had  nourished  this  hatred  in  the  past;  a  harrow- 
ing warfare  had  been  waged  sullenly  for  years,  without 
leading  to  a  decisive  result.  It  was  evident  that  a  conflict 
between  the  Confederation  and  the  ducal  house  could  no 
longer  be  averted;  that  two  expanding  forces,  trying  to 
occupy  the  same  territory,  must  eventually  come  into  open 
collision. 

Duke  Leopold  III.,  nephew  of  the  Leopold  who  was 
defeated  at  Morgarten,  ruled  over  the  western  possessions  of 
the  Habsburg  family,  including  those  situated  in  what  is 
now  Swiss  territory.  In  his  efforts  to  extend  and  consoli- 
date his  authority  in  southern  Germany,  he  had  encountered 
the  determined  opposition  of  a  coalition  known  as  the 
League  of  the  Swabian  Cities.  Seeing  this,  the  Confeder- 
ates hastened  to  ally  themselves  with  the  new  league,  in 
the  hope  of  sweeping  their  hereditary  enemy  out  of  the 
country  altogether.  Had  this  alliance  been  of  a  firm  and 
durable  kind,  the  desired  result  might  have  been  obtained; 
but  it  was  weak  and  vacillating,  unable,  as  subsequent  events 
proved,  to  stand  the  test  of  actual  warfare. 

The  signal  for  hostilities  to  begin  came  from  an  unex- 
pected quarter  —  from  that  of  Luzern.  This  city  had  been 

1Appeared  in  part  in  "The  Atlantic  Monthly,"  April,  1891,  under  the  title  of 
"Arnold  Winkelried  at  Sempach." 

167 


168  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

for  some  time  in  a  false  position,  for,  while  nominally  under 
Austrian  dominion,  it  was  practically  self-governing,  and, 
moreover,  bound  to  Austria's  implacable  enemy  by  a  perpet- 
ual league.  There  was  a  continual  struggle  between  the 
two  tendencies  of  allegiance  to  the  ducal  authorities  and  to 
the  Confederation,  going  on  within  its  walls.  In  1385,  dem- 
ocratic strivings  began  to  manifest  themselves  in  an  unmis- 
takable manner.  The  citizens  set  about  demolishing  the 
Austrian  strongholds  in  their  vicinity,  liberating  the  peasantry 
from  the  control  of  the  enemy's  officials,  and  admitting  them 
as  fellow  citizens  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  own  charter. 
Thus  the  seat  of  the  Austrian  bailiff  at  Rothenburg  was 
destroyed,  the  men  of  Entlebuch,  a  neighboring  valley,  were 
drawn  into  friendly  relations,  and  the  little  city  of  Sempach 
received  the  rights  of  co-citizenship  with  Luzern. 

Nor  did  the  other  Confederates  remain  quiet  in  the  face  of 
such  enterprise.  Zug  attacked  the  castle  of  St.  Andreas  near 
Cham,  Zurich  marched  against  Rapperswil,  and  Schwiz  took 
Einsiedeln. 

When  war  seemed  inevitable,  they  sent  the  customary  sum- 
mons to  the  Swabian  cities,  but  the  latter  attempted  to  with- 
draw from  the  pledge  to  send  help,  and,  in  the  end,  left  their 
allies  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  storm  alone. 

In  June,  1386,  Leopold  organized  the  expedition  with  which 
he  hoped  to  deal  the  Confederation  a  death-blow.  Many 
well-known  noblemen  flocked  to  his  standard,  attracted  by  his 
knightly  character  and  by  the  hope  of  inflicting  a  lasting 
punishment  upon  the  insolent  peasants.  There  were  the  mar- 
graves of  Baden  and  Hochberg,  and  the  counts  of  Hohen-Zol- 
lern,  Nassau,  and  Habsburg-Lauff enburg ;  from  Italy  came  the 
Marquis  of  Este  with  two  hundred  Milanese  lances,  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Duke  Conrad  of  Theck.  Leopold  had  also 
hired  the  services  of  several  noted  mercenary  captains :  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine ;  the  Dutch  Count  of  Salm ;  Lord  Jean 
de  Raye,  who  later  became  Marshal  of  France;  Lord  Jean  de 
Vergy,  Senechal  and  Marshal  of  Burgundy ;  and  the  same 


THE  BATTLE   OF  SEMPACH.  169 

Enguerrand  de  Coucy,  who  had  fought  in  the  French  and 
English  wars,  and  had  shortly  before  invaded  Switzerland  at 
the  head  of  plundering  troops.  It  was  Leopold's  plan  to  pen- 
etrate at  once  to  Luzern,  the  geographical  centre  of  the 
Confederation,  while  diverting  the  enemy's  attention  by  a 
reconnaissance  upon  Zurich ;  and,  had  his  force  been  compact 
and  available  for  immediate  invasion,  the  issue  of  the  war  might 
have  been  very  different.  But  a  great  part  of  his  army  did 
not  reach  the  scene  of  action  at  all,  so  that  only  a  compara- 
tively small  column  made  the  disastrous  march  upon  Luzern. 
From  the  little  town  of  Brugg,  near  the  ancestral  castle  of 
Habsburg,  Leopold  advanced  by  way  of  Zofingen  and  Willisau 
to  Sursee,  foolishly  wasting  more  than  a  week  of  valuable  time 
in  stopping  at  Willisau  to  punish  a  refractory  chatelaine  for  her 
allegiance  to  Bern.  On  the  Qth  of  July,  the  main  force  finally 
rode  along  the  northern  shore  of  the  Lake  of  Sempach,  in 
order  to  reach  Luzern  by  way  of  Rothenburg. 

The  battle-ground  of  Sempach,  like  that  of  Morgarten,  is 
not  situated  amongst  the  high  Alps,  but  in  the  undulating 
lowlands  which  lead  up  to  them.  A  ten-mile  ride  in  the  train 
from  Luzern  and  a  short  walk  from  the  rustic  station  will  take 
you  to  the  gates  of  the  miniature  walled  town  of  Sempach,  a 
quaint  survival  of  the  middle  ages,  practically  untouched  by 
the  march  of  time.  Take  the  road  which  climbs  the  hill  in  a 
north-easterly  direction  toward  Hildisrieden.  In  something 
like  half  an  hour  you  will  reach  an  uneven  plateau,  where  a 
road  joins  your  own  from  the  west.  This  is  the  battle-ground 
of  Sempach.  A  chapel  stands  by  the  wayside  to  mark  the  spot 
where  Duke  Leopold  met  his  death ;  in  the  open  field  a  rude 
pyramid  of  granite,  surrounded  by  pine  saplings,  bears  this 
legend :  "  Hier  Hat  Winkelried  den  Seinen  Eine  Gasse  Gem- 
acht,  1386."  To  the  south,  across  the  sloping  field,  broken 
by  little  brooks  into  rough  divisions,  lies  a  tract  of  forest, 
known  as  the  Meierholz,  where  the  Confederates  lay  in  hiding 
on  that  eventful  day,  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  Austrian s 
from  Sursee. 


170  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

As  soon  as  war  had  been  declared,  the  various  states  of  the 
Confederation  had  taken  steps  to  put  their  frontiers  into  a 
defensive  condition,  Bern  alone  remaining  inactive  and  pre- 
serving an  expectant  attitude.  About  fifteen  hundred  troops 
marched  to  Zurich  to  defend  that  city,  because  it  was  generally 
believed  that  Leopold  would  select  it  for  his  principal  attack ; 
but  at  the  last  moment  news  came  that  the  Austrians  were 
advancing  upon  Luzern,  and  the  troops  hastened  to  take  up  a 
position  from  which  they  could  surprise  Leopold  on  the  march. 
Thus  it  happened  that  when  the  Austrians  reached  the  uneven 
plateau,  which  has  been  described  above,  the  battle  came  upon 
them  as  a  complete  surprise,  and  in  a  locality  ill-suited  for  the 
evolutions  of  their  cavalry.  The  majority  of  the  knights  dis- 
mounted, sent  their  horses  and  squires  to  one  side,  and  sta- 
tioned themselves  in  long  and  deep  lines,  clad  in  heavy  armor, 
and  holding  before  them  the  lances  they  were  accustomed 
to  wield  on  horseback.  The  rest,  amongst  whom  rode  Leo- 
pold himself,  remained  behind  to  act  as  a  reserve  with  the 
contingents  sent  by  Austria's  partisans.  According  to  the 
most  reliable  accounts,  some  adventurous  young  noblemen, 
eager  to  win  their  spurs  that  day,  straightway  rushed  upon 
the  Confederates,  who  were  drawn  up  in  a  wedge-shaped  col- 
umn peculiar  to  them,  and  were  armed  with  their  famous  hal- 
berds and  a  variety  of  short  weapons. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  first  part  of  the  battle 
proved  most  unfavorable  to  the  Confederates.  It  appears  that 
their  short  weapons  were  useless  against  the  long  spears  which 
confronted  them,  for  they  could  not  reach  the  Austrians  to 
strike  them,  and  could,  at  best,  only  shatter  the  wooden  shafts. 
In  vain  they  rushed  against  the  bristling  array,  in  vain  they 
attempted  to  break  through  that  solid  phalanx;  the  foremost 
were  invariably  pierced  through  before  they  could  make  use  of 
their  short  weapons.  By  degrees  the  Austrians  were  pressing 
the  Confederates  off  the  field,  and  victory  seemed  assured  to 
the  noblemen  against  the  peasants. 

Suddenly,  however,  the  tide  of  battle  turned;  defeat  was 


THE  BATTLE   OF  SEMPACH.  171 

changed  to  triumph  as  though  by  a  miracle.  How  this  came 
about  is  a  problem  which  has  exercised  the  minds  of  many  his- 
torians, for  it  is  at  this  point  that  certain  versions  introduce 
the  much-contested  episode  of  Arnold  Winkelried,  while  others 
ascribe  the  cause  of  this  good  fortune  to  a  change  of  tactics 
adopted  by  the  Confederates,  or  to  the  hot  July  sun,  acting 
upon  the  heavy  armor  in  which  the  Austrians  were  encased. 
Probably  these  circumstances  affected  the  issue  of  the  battle 
to  a  certain  extent ;  but  there  seems  to  be  room  for  the  heroic 
deed  of  Winkelried  as  well.  In  the  words  of  the  anonymous 
chronicler  who  is  the  first  to  mention  the  subject:  "To  this 
[victory]  a  trusty  man  amongst  the  Confederates  helped  us. 
When  he  saw  that  things  were  going  so  badly,  and  that  the 
lords  with  their  lances  and  spears  always  thrust  down  the 
foremost  before  they  could  be  touched  by  the  halberds,  then 
did  that  honest  man  and  true  rush  forward  and  seize  as  many 
spears  as  he  could  and  press  them  down,  so  that  the  Confed- 
erates smote  off  all  the  spears  with  their  halberds,  and  so 
reached  the  enemy."  l 

As  soon  as  the  Confederates  had  succeeded  in  breaking 
through  the  enemy's  line  and  were  at  close  quarters,  whatever 
the  manner  in  which  this  was  accomplished,  their  short  weap- 
ons at  once  became  superior  to  the*  enemy's  long  spears,  and 
their  light  equipment  gave  them  a  great  advantage  over  the 
knights,  whose  movements  were  hampered  by  heavy  armor. 
The  Austrian  knights,  encased  in  plates  of  iron  and  steel,  half 
suffocated  under  heavy  helmets,  heated  by  the  broiling  sun, 
their  legs  covered  with  greaves,  could  not  long  withstand  the 
light-footed  peasants.  Austria's  standard  was  seen  to  sway  to 
and  fro,  threatening  to  fall,  and  the  cry  went  up,  "  Austria  to 
the  rescue  ! "  Then  Leopold,  who  had  been  watching  the  fray 
from  his  post  amongst  the  reserves,  sprang  forward,  unmindful 
of  his  followers'  prayers,  plunged  into  the  thick  of  the  fight  to 
save  the  honor  of  his  house,  and,  after  a  brave  struggle,  fell 
himself  beneath  the  strokes  of  the  victorious  Confederates. 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.     p.  105. 


172  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Then  ensued  a  moment  of  indescribable  confusion,  for  the 
mounted  knights,  seeing  their  leader's  fate,  fled  precipitately, 
while  the  dismounted  ones  called  aloud  for  their  squires  and 
horses.  But  alas  !  they,  too,  had  fled ;  and  thus  abandoned  by 
their  friends,  weak  with  exhaustion,  and  imprisoned  in  their 
armor,  these  warriors  perished  an  easy  prey  to  the  relentless 
peasants. 

When  all  was  over,  the  Confederates,  as  was  their  wont,  fell 
upon  their  knees  to  sing  a  Kyrie,  and  to  thank  God  for  the 
victory.  Then  they  remained  three  days  upon  the  battlefield, 
to  gather  up  the  spoils,  to  bury  their  dead,  and  to  be  ready  to 
meet  the  enemy  should  they  return. 

Besides  Leopold  the  Austrians  mourned  the  loss  of  a  host 
of  nobles,  whose  names  are  carefully  recorded  in  various  annals, 
in  all  more  than  six  hundred  of  the  best  blood  of  Swabia  and 
the  lands  subject  to  the  Habsburg  family.  The  victors  also 
lost  some  of  their  best  leaders,  notably  Conrad  der  Frauen,  the 
Landammann  of  Uri,  and  Peter  von  Gundoldingen,  late  Avoyer 
(Schultheiss)  of  Luzern.  Great  booty  in  costly  weapons,  gar- 
ments, and  jewels  fell  into  their  hands,  of  which  they  could 
hardly  understand  the  uses  or  appreciate  the  value.  The 
museum  of  Luzern  still  contains  a  few  authenticated  trophies 
captured  in  the  battle,  but  most  of  the  spoils  were  scattered 
about,  and  are  of  course  extremely  difficult  to  identify  at  this 
late  date. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that,  when  Leopold's  body  was  trans- 
ported to  Austria  from  the  monastery  church  of  Konigsfelden, 
near  Brugg,  where  he  had  been  temporarily  laid  to  rest  after 
the  battle,  an  eye-witness  of  the  ceremony  reported  that  his 
head  was  covered  with  long  reddish-gold  hair,  and  that  no 
wound  whatever  was  visible  on  his  head. 

In  forming  an  estimate  of  the  duke's  character,  we  must  not 
allow  ourselves  to  be  influenced  by  the  humiliating  defeat 
which  he  sustained  at  Sempach.  He  seems  to  have  been 
every  inch  a  knight ;  not  by  any  means  free  from  the  failings 
peculiar  to  his  class  and  his  age,  but  a  man  possessed  of 


THE  BATTLE   OF  SEMPACH.  173 

of  the  manly  virtues  —  brave,  keen,  and  well  practiced  in 
arms. 

There  was  something  extraordinary  in  the  sensation  caused 
by  the  reports  of  this  rout  of  the  nobles.  The  news  flew  like 
wildfire  in  every  direction,  so  that  we  find  it  mentioned  in  the 
chronicles  of  places  as  far  removed  from  the  scene  of  battle  as 
Liibeck  and  Limburg  in  the  far  north,  and  an  Italian  city  in 
the  south.  A  Swabian  writer  expressed  the  pious  wish  "that 
the  cursed  Swiss  at  Sentback  (Sempach)  might  be  confounded 
and  their  descendants  destroyed  forever,"1  while  the  Confeder- 
ates, on  their  side,  made  all  manner  of  fun  of  the  vanquished 
knights,  accumulating  a  large  stock  of  anecdotes  and  war 
songs  upon  the  subject.  It  is  related,  for  instance,  that  the 
dismounted  horsemen  were  obliged  to  cut  off  the  awkward 
beak-shaped  points  to  their  shoes,  which  were  fashionable  in 
those  days,  before  entering  into  battle,  and  that  this  is  the  rea- 
son why  a  field  near  by  is  still  called  the  Schnabelacker,  or 
Beakfield. 

A  further  task  in  historical  criticism  remains  to  be  accom- 
plished before  leaving  this  subject  —  a  disagreeable  duty  in 
many  respects,  for  it  is  to  examine  whether  Arnold  Winkel- 
ried  did  really  perform  the  heroic  act  attributed  to  him,  or 
whether  his  story  is  merely  an  interpolation,  inserted  by 
unscrupulous  chroniclers. 

Fortunately,  the  evidence  concerning  the  ancestry  of  Win- 
kelried,  unlike  that  of  William  Tell,  reposes  upon  a  solid  foun- 
dation. As  long  ago  as  1854,  Dr.  Hermann  von  Liebenau, 
whose  services  in  the  cause  of  Swiss  historical  research  have 
been  invaluable,  published  a  genealogical  record  of  the  family 
from  contemporary  documents,  covering  the  period  between 
1248  and  1534. 

The  Knights  of  Winkelreid  appear  at  intervals,  according  to 
Von  Liebenau's  investigations,  occupying  positions  of  honor 
and  trust  amongst  the  families  of  lesser  nobles  which  Unter- 
walden  possessed  from  very  early  times.  In  1367,  nineteen 

1  Liebenau,  T.  von.     Die  Schlacht  bei  Sempach. 


174          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

years  before  the  battle  of  Sempach,  the  name  of  a  man,  Erni 
Winkelried,  was  affixed  as  witness  to  a  deed  of  transfer,  Erni 
being  the  local  diminutive  of  Arnold.  The  same  name,  whether 
representing  the  same  person  or  not,  cannot  be  determined, 
but  with  the  particle  von  added,  occurs  again  three  years  after 
the  battle,  and  without  a  von  thirty-one  years  after,  when  one 
Erni  Winkelried  is  mentioned  as  Landammann  of  Unterwalden. 

At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  village  of  Stans,  travellers 
are  shown  an  ancient  stone  house  which  is  known  locally  as 
the  Winkelried  homestead,  and  in  the  little  arsenal  hangs  a 
coat-of-mail  which  is  said  to  have  been  the  hero's  own.  There 
is  no  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  the  relic  beyond  popular 
say-so,  while  the  house  was  more  likely  the  property  of  the 
Counts  of  Habsburg.  A  modern  marble  group,  representing 
Winkelried's  act  of  heroism,  stands  in  the  village  square. 

The  ominous  silence  of  contemporary  chronicles  is  urged 
against  the  truth  of  the  generally  accepted  version,  for  the 
brave  deed  is  not  mentioned  until  something  like  half  a  cen- 
tury after  the  battle,  and  even  this  date  is  open  to  question. 
The  name  of  Winkelried  does  not  occur  in  the  earliest  account 
which  has  been  quoted  above  in  the  description  of  the  battle, 
where  he  is  described  simply  as  "a  trusty  man  amongst  the  Con- 
federates"; in  fact,  we  meet  the  name  for  the  first  time  in  a 
certain  battle-song  attributed  to  one  Halbsuter,  of  Luzern,  the 
date  of  its  production  being  also  a  matter  in  dispute,  but  gen- 
erally conceded  to  be  about  1476.  The  three  stanzas  which 
deal  with  the  Winkelried  episode  are  presented  here  in  all 
their  naive  simplicity :  — 

"  The  nobles'  force  was  firm, 

Their  order  deep  and  broad ; 

This  vexed  the  pious  guests.1 

A  Winkelried,  he  said  : 
*  Ha !  if  you'll  make  amends 

To  my  poor  child  and  wife, 

I'll  do  a  daring  deed.' 

1  Referring,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  the  men  of  Unterwalden  were,  in  a  sense, 
military  guests  of  Luzern,  in  whose  territory  the  battle  of  Sempach  was  fought. 


THE  BATTLE   OF  SEMPACH.  175 

"'True  and  dear  Confederates, 
I'll  lose  my  life  with  you ; 
They've  closed  their  line  of  battle, 
We  cannot  break  it  through ; 
Ha !  I  will  force  an  opening, 
Because  to  my  descendants 
You'll  make  amends  forever  1' 

"  With  this  he  then  did  seize 
Of  spears  an  armful  quickly ; 
For  them  he  makes  a  way, 
His  life  is  at  an  end. 
Ah  !  he  has  a  lion's  courage ; 
His  brave  and  manly  death 
Saved  the  Four  Forest  States."1 

In  1538,  Rudolf  Gwalther,  Zwingli's  son-in-law,  tells  the 
same  story,  without,  however,  mentioning  Winkelried's  name. 
Two  lists  of  those  who  fell  in  the  battle  have  put  the 
hero's  name  on  record ;  but,  unfortunately,  they  were  both 
drawn  up  long  after  Sempach,  almost  two  hundred  years 
having  elapsed  since  that  event,  so  that  their  testimony  is 
open  to  suspicion.  In  the  course  of  this  controversy,  it  has 
also  transpired  that  five  similar  feats  are  on  record  in  Swiss 
history.  One  historian  (K.  Biirkli)  has  gone  so  far  as  to 
assert  that  the  whole  story  has  been  transferred  to  Sem- 
pach from  the  fight  which  occurred  at  Bicocca,  near  Milan, 
in  1522,  where  another  Arnold  Winkelried  met  his  death  in 
a  similar  manner ;  while  somebody  else  even  maintains  that 
Winkelried  did  not  seize  the  enemy's  spears  at  all,  but  him- 
self used  a  bundle  of  spears  to  break  through  the  enemy's 
ranks. 

The  upshot  of  the  whole  discussion  seems  to  be  some- 
what as  follows :  — 

The  strictest  historical  research  has  established  that  a 
man,  Arnold  Winkelried,  lived  in  Stans,  of  Unterwalden,  at 
about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Sempach ;  but  it  is  still  a 
debatable  question  whether  he  was  present  at  the  battle. 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.  p.  107-108. 


176          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

t<S, 

r,  " 

The  fact  that  he  came  from  a  knightly  family,  distinguished 
for  its  warlike  character,  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  he 
would  not  absent  himself  at  a  critical  moment,  such  as  the  day 
of  Sempach  undoubtedly  was.  As  for  the  act  itself,  the 
evidence  for  and  against  seems  fairly  well  balanced.  There 
was,  unquestionably,  a  wonderful  turning-point  in  the  course 
of  the  battle,  and  Winkelried's"  act  might  have  accomplished 
all  that  has  been  claimed  for  it;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  silence  of  contemporary  accounts,  the  similarity  of  the 
feat  recorded  of  the  battle  of  Bicocca,  and  the  unscrupulous- 
ness  of  chroniclers  and  ballad-mongers  in  glorifying  their 
particular  locality,  are  arguments  which  must  be  considered 
to  weigh  heavily  against  the  story  of  the  patriotic  self- 
sacrifice. 

One  must  confess  to  an  intense  enthusiasm  for  this  heroic 
act,  whether  performed  at  Sempach  or  at  Bicocca,  by  a 
Winkelried  or  by  an  unknown  "  trusty  man  amongst  the  Con- 
federates." It  has  in  it  something  exceptionally  noble, 
something  classic,  as  though  destined  to  fire  the  imagination 
and  arouse  the  devotion  of  mankind  for  all  time.  William 
Tell's  disappearance  from  the  historical  stage  has  proved  a 
great  gain,  especially  by  opening  the  way  for  a  serious 
study  of  the  origin  of  the  Swiss  Confederation.  His  conduct 
never  merited  the  eulogisms  which  have  always  been  lavished 
upon  it ;  for  to  imperil  the  life  of  his  own  child  by  an  exhibi- 
tion of  fancy  shooting,  and  then  to  murder  the  tyrant  from 
ambush,  were  acts  which  we  cannot  sanction  unreservedly. 
William  Tell's  story  is  picturesque,  but  Winkelried's  is 
heroic,  unsoiled  even  by  the  semblance  of  self-interest.  If 
it  be  destined  to  disappear  from  the  pages  of  strict  history, 
let  it  at  least  live  in  the  hearts  of  men  forever  as  a  divine 
fiction. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  NAFELS. 

MORGARTEN  and  Sempach  alike,  though  fought  between 
Austria  and  the  Confederation,  were  in  reality  episodes 
in  a  far  greater  contest  which  embraced  the  nobility  and 
peasantry  of  Europe  in  general.  In  the  retrospect  these  bat- 
tles are  seen  to  be  amongst  those  victories  which  have 
advanced  the  cause  of  liberty  and  placed  mankind  nearer  the 
ideal  toward  which  it  is  steadily  progressing  through  the 
ages. 

But  Austria's  cup  of  humiliation  was  not  yet  full.  Embold- 
ened by  their  wonderful  success,  the  Confederates  encroached 
upon  the  enemy's  territory  in  all  directions.  A  sort  of  armis- 
tice was  indeed  agreed  upon,  a  temporary  cessation  of  hostilities, 
which  went  by  the  name  of  the  Evil  Peace,  because  no  one  for 
a  moment  dreamed  that  the  contracting  parties  would  adhere 
strictly  to  its  provisions.  The  Bernese  promptly  marched 
against  Fribourg,  as  they  usually  did  when  that  staunch  Aus- 
trian rival  of  theirs  was  unprotected,  and  inflicted  several 
defeats  in  that  quarter.  Other  Confederates  took  the  little 
town  of  Wesen  as  the  first  step  toward  reclaiming  Glarus 
altogether  from  the  Austrian  yoke.  In  fact,  the  contest  was 
now  transferred  to  that  unfortunate  valley,  which,  though 
united  to  the  Confederation  by  a  perpetual  league,  was  still 
governed  by  the  common  enemy. 

At  this  juncture,  the  men  of  Glarus  cast  off  the  last  sem- 
blance of  subjection  to  Austria  in  a  public  assembly,  or 
Landsgemeinde,  presided  over  by  a  Landammann  elected  by 
themselves.  A  constitution  (Satzungsbrief)  was  drawn  up, 

177 


178  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

which  aimed  openly  at  political  independence  from  the  nunnery 
at  Seckingen  and  its  bailiff,  the  Duke  of  Austria.  It  then 
received  the  sanction  of  all  the  Confederates  except  Bern, 
that  city  still  holding  aloof  from  any  joint  action  with  the  rest. 

Barely  had  the  Evil  Peace  expired  in  1388,  when  the  Aus- 
trians  renewed  offensive  operations  by  attempting  to  reconquer 
the  rebellious  little  land  of  Glarus.  For  this  purpose  the  pos- 
session of  Wesen  was  necessary,  as  a  glance  at  the  map  will 
show,  a  stronghold  guarded  at  that  time  only  by  a  small  detach- 
ment of  Confederates,  principally  from  Glarus  itself.  In  the 
night  of  the  22d  of  February,  the  garrison  was  surprised,  with 
the  connivance  of  a  part  of  the  inhabitants.  Great  indignation 
was  expressed  throughout  the  land,  both  against  those  who  had 
planned  this  cowardly  attack,  as  also  against  the  traitorous 
population  of  Wesen,  who  had  given  their  assistance,  for,  with 
this  key  in  their  hands,  the  Austrians  could  proceed  to  the  con- 
quest of  Glarus  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  A 
last  attempt  to  come  to  some  sort  of  understanding  miscar- 
ried, and  Glarus  was,  therefore,  exposed  to  an  immediate 
invasion. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Qth  of  April,  1388,  the  Austrian 
army,  5000  to  6000  strong  in  horse  and  foot,  set  out  in  two 
columns  to  march  up  the  valley  and  capture  the  chief  village, 
the  little  capital  of  Glarus.  One  would  have  thought  so  numer- 
ous a  host  more  than  enough  to  subdue  a  poor  and  thinly 
populated  district,  but  the  result  at  once  showed  the  great  supe- 
riority of  the  people  on  foot,  defending  their  native  soil,  over 
the  best  mounted  troops  in  search  of  plunder.  It  was  but  a 
repetition  of  Morgarten  and  Sempach.  The  main  body,  under 
Count  Donat  of  Toggenburg,  proceeded  straight  up  the  valley, 
while  a  detachment,  under  Count  Werdenberg-Sargans,  exe- 
cuted a  flank  movement  from  the  Walensee  over  the  Kerenzen 
Mountain  to  Beglingen  and  Mollis. 

There  was  no  fighting  until  the  principal  force  drew  near 
Nafels,  where  the  valley  grows  considerably  narrower.  Here  an 
old  Letzi,  or  fortification,  barred  their  way  for  a  time,  defended 


THE  BATTLE  OF  NAFELS.  179 

by  a  small  picked  body  of  the  men  of  Glarus.  After  a  fierce 
struggle,  the  latter  were  obliged  to  yield  to  superior  numbers, 
and  withdrew  up  the  valley,  giving  the  alarm  to  all  the  inhab- 
itants as  they  went.  So  far  all  had  gone  well  for  the  Austri- 
ans,  but  no  sooner  had  they  forced  the  Letzi,  than,  regardless 
of  discipline,  they  spread  over  the  plain  in  search  of  booty, 
plundering  the  houses,  destroying  the  crops,  and  driving  the 
cattle  together.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  favorable  to 
the  men  of  Glarus,  for  it  gave  them  just  the  time  they  needed 
to  recover  from  the  shock  of  their  first  defeat,  and  to  take  up 
a  position  of  defence  beyond  Nafels,  upon  a  slope  at  the  foot 
of  the  Rautiberg,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Schneisingen. 
It  was  covered  with  loose,  rolling  stones,  the  debris  which 
time  and  weather  had  worn  from  the  cliffs  above,  the  whole 
forming  what  is  technically  called  a  talus.  Upon  this  ground 
a  devoted  band  had  gathered,  consisting  of  native  men  rein- 
forced by  a  few  brave  fellows  from  Schwiz,  who  had  probably 
hastened  over  the  Pragel  Pass  at  the  last  moment.  They  did 
not  number  more  than  600  in  all,  a  mere  handful  of  men,  but 
all  inspired  by  the  loftiest  ideal  of  patriotism  and  rendered  for- 
midable by  their  desperate  situation. 

As  the  Austrians  approached  in  loose  order,  they  became 
aware  of  this  concentration  of  the  enemy,  firmly  planted  to 
dispute  their  passage,  and  straightway  prepared  to  dislodge 
them.  The  horsemen  were  riding  in  front,  according  to  uni- 
versal practice  in  medieval  warfare,  behind  them  the  infantry. 
Without  hesitation  the  former  urged  their  horses  up  the  steep 
and  insecure  slope  in  the  hope  of  driving  down  the  defenders, 
but,  for  their  pains,  received  a  perfect  shower  of  large  stones 
which  wounded  many  and  rendered  the  chargers  unmanageable 
with  fright.  It  was  evident  that  nothing  could  be  accom- 
plished in  this  manner ;  the  horsemen,  therefore,  drew  back  a 
little,  calling  out  to  the  infantry  behind  to  make  way  for  them. 
Just  as  this  backward  movement  was  being  carried  out,  while 
the  whole  Austrian  force  was  still  retreating,  and  before  it  had 
taken  up  a  new  position,  the  men  of  Glarus  rushed  down  from 


180  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  height,  hurled  themselves  with  the  utmost  violence  against 
the  disordered  foe,  and  drove  them,  step  by  step,  down  the  val- 
ley, by  the  Letzi,  and  finally  over  the  open  plain  toward 
Wesen. 

Tradition  has  it  that  the  Austrians  arrested  their  flight  eleven 
times  to  make  a  stand  against  the  furious  onslaught  of  the 
enraged  mountaineers,  and  eleven  times  were  turned  back  with 
frightful  slaughter.  Then  their  flight  developed  into  a  mad 
race  to  Wesen,  in  course  of  which  many  were  drowned  by  the 
breaking  down  of  a  bridge  over  the  river  Linth,  and  others 
were  cut  down  by  their  ruthless  pursuers,  as  they  lay  wounded 
and  defenceless  upon  the  battlefield.  It  was  a  barbarous  age, 
when  quarter  was  neither  asked  nor  given.  As  near  as  can  be 
estimated,  the  Austrian  loss  was  no  less  than  1 700  men,  while 
that  of  the  victors  did  not  exceed  54,  the  names  of  the  fallen 
patriots  being  still  visible  in  the  church  at  Mollis,  inscribed  in 
golden  letters. 

As  for  Count  Werdenberg,  no  sooner  had  he  ascertained 
the  fate  of  the  main  body,  than,  esteeming  discretion  the  better 
part  of  valor,  he  fled  in  hot  haste — "and  yet,"  remarks  a 
Zurich  chronicler,  ironically,  "not  a  soul  ran  after  him.  'n 

A  year  after  the  battle,  the  men  of  Glarus  instituted  an 
annual  pilgrimage  to  Nafels,  which  has  developed  in  course  of 
time  into  a  regular  patriotic  festival ;  a  procession,  on  each 
occasion,  visits  the  eleven  stones  which  mark  the  places  where 
according  to  tradition  the  Austrians  rallied  in  vain. 

In  1389,  a  seven -years'  peace  was  signed  at  Vienna,  leaving 
the  Confederates  in  undisputed  possession  of  all  the  territory 
they  had  acquired  by  force  of  arms  in  the  recent  war.  But 
this  did  not  prevent  the  Dukes  of  Austria  from  attempting  to 
undermine  the  victorious  Confederation  by  diplomatic  means, 
for,  after  succeeding  in  placing  themselves  at  the  head  of  a 
league  of  imperial  cities  in  Southern  Germany,  tried  their  old 
trick  of  trying  to  win  Zurich  from  allegiance  to  the  Confedera- 
tion, in  order  to  incorporate  that  city  into  their  own  alliance. 

1  Dandliker,  K.     Geschichte.     Vol.  I.,  p.  534. 


THE  BATTLE   OF  NAFELS.  181 

In  fact,  they  had  already  received  the  assent  of  the  Zurich  gov- 
ernment to  their  proposition,  when  all  at  once  a  note  of  alarm 
was  heard  throughout  the  land,  and  negotiations  had  to  be 
stopped.  An  aristocratic  faction,  which  had  inherited  Brun's 
philo- Austrian  policy,  was  at  the  time  (1393)  in  control  of 
Zurich,  but  when  remonstrances  poured  in  from  various  mem- 
bers of  the  Confederation,  and  the  great  body  of  the  citizens 
themselves  expostulated  against  the  scandalous  plan,  a  popular 
rising  took  place  in  the  city.  Biirgermeister,  Rudolf  Schon, 
and  his  satellites  were  expelled  ;  the  assent  to  the  league  with 
Austria  was  withdrawn ;  and  a  thorough  revision  of  the  city 
constitution  undertaken  in  a  democratic  sense.  This  new  doc- 
ument was  known  as  the  Dritte  Geschworene  Brief. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  the  motive  of  the  aristocratic 
party  in  lending  itself  to  proceedings  which  were  so  certain  to 
arouse  the  fury  of  the  people,  and  that,  too,  so  soon  after  the 
Confederation  had  proved  its  ability  to  repulse  the  attacks  of 
Austria  on  every  hand.  Had  the  treacherous  purpose  suc- 
ceeded, Zurich  must  inevitably  have  severed  her  connection 
with  the  growing  federal  state  to  which  she  had  voluntarily 
bound  herself  by  a  perpetual  pact. 

Still  burning  with  the  sense  of  wrong,  and  impressed  by 
the  necessity  for  closer  union,  the  Confederates,  one  and  all, 
even  Glarus  and  Bern,  with  the  latter's  principal  ally,  Solo- 
thurn,  met  in  1393,  and  signed  a  document,  the  Covenant  of 
Sempach,  so-called  because  it  related  principally  to  the  defects 
in  the  military  organization  of  the  Confederates,  which  the 
war  of  Sempach  had  betrayed.  Its  several  provisions  will  be 
examined  in  the  next  chapter. 

Whether  it  was  the  failure  to  sever  Zurich  from  the  Con- 
federation, or  whether  the  utter  hopelessness  of  further  con- 
quest finally  impressed  itself  upon  the  Dukes  of  Austria,  at 
all  events,  they  suddenly  abandoned  the  position  they  bad 
maintained  until  now,  and  signed  a  peace  for  twenty  years,  to 
last  until  1415. 

The  war  of   independence   was   virtually  over;   the    Eight 


182  THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

States  could  rest  from  their  labors.  All  the  pretentions  Aus- 
tria had  so  long  upheld,  at  the  sacrifice  of  so  great  an  outlay 
in  men  and  money,  all  these  collapsed  utterly  and  forever;  the 
Dukes  virtually  acknowledged  that  they  had  been  worsted  in 
the  struggle  of  more  than  a  hundred  years,  and  were  now 
forced  to  treat  as  independent  and  sovereign  the  very  people 
they  had  heretofore  considered  in  the  light  of  subjects  or 
vassals. 

In  truth  a  new  power  had  arisen  within  the  German  Empire, 
a  warlike  element  formidable  to  the  upholders  of  the  feudal 
system,  but  to  the  oppressed  people  an  example  of  what 
undaunted  patriotism,  wisely  tempered,  could  accomplish. 
To  all  intents  and  purposes  the  Confederation,  though  still 
within  the  Empire,  was  from  this  time  on  no  longer  of  it.  In 
Germany  proper  men  spoke  of  the  various  States  collectively 
as  Die  Schweiz,  after  Schwiz,  the  State  which  seemed  to  them 
the  most  active  and  irreconcilable,  while  the  Swiss  them- 
selves called  their  Confederation  an  Eidgenossenschaft  in  the 
documents,  showing  that  they  were  beginning  to  form  a  sepa- 
rate nation. 

Certainly  the  results  are  worthy  of  admiration,  the  more 
so  as  the  democratic  feelings,  which  had  made  their  appear- 
ance in  the  Swabian  and  Rhine  cities,  received  their  death- 
blow at  this  very  time.  Only  a  few  months  after  the  rude 
peasants  of  Glarus  had  defeated  a  large  army  of  Knights  at 
Nafels,  the  league  of  the  Swabian  cities  was  hopelessly 
crushed  by  Count  Eberhard,  of  Wiirttemburg,  in  the  battle 
of  Dofflingen,  and  soon  after  the  Rhine  cities  also  suc- 
cumbed to  a  like  fate.  At  the  very  time,  therefore,  that  the 
seeds  of  immemorial  Teutonic  liberties  were  being  trampled 
into  the  mire  in  Germany  proper,  they  took  root  and  flour- 
ished in  the  rising  Swiss  Confederation.  On  one  side  the 
monarchical  principle  was  in  the  ascendant,  on  the  other  the 
republican.  With  the  lapse  of  time  this  fundamental  differ- 
ence became  more  and  more  accentuated ;  the  two  nations 
grew  apart,  never  again  to  be  united. 


THE  BATTLE   OF  NAFELS.  183 

The  Swiss  of  the  fourteenth  century  rescued  the  princi- 
ple of  primitive  democracy,  which  had  reached  them  from 
pre-feudal  times,  just  at  the  critical  moment  when  it  was 
threatened  with  extinction.  All  honor  to  them  for  that 
great  service  to  mankind ! 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CONSTITUTIONAL     ORGANIZATION     OF     THE     CONFEDERATION     OF 

EIGHT     STATES. 

OF  a  constitution  proper,  in  the  modern  acceptation  of 
the  term,  there  were,  as  yet,  only  faint  traces.  The 
Confederation  of  Eight  States  by  no  means  presented  all 
the  features  of  a  well-balanced,  logical  scheme  of  govern- 
ment. It  was  a  group  of  sovereign  communities  rather  than 
a  nation,  an  organization  rather  than  an  organism,  and  "a 
Union  of  the  loosest  kind,"  as  Mr.  Freeman  says,  in  which  the 
members  were  neither  all  bound  to  each  other  nor  all  on  an 
equal  footing  with  each  other.  Bern  had  contracted  no  direct 
league  either  with  Zurich  or  Luzern,  nor  Luzern  with  Glarus, 
nor  Glarus  with  Zug.  Moreover  Glarus  occupied  a  distinctly 
subordinate  position  toward  the  rest,  while  the  Forest  States 
were  pledged  to  render  certain  services  to  Zurich  and  Bern, 
for  which  those  cities  by  no  means  returned  an  equivalent. 

The  very  charters  of  the  different  States,  and  their  meth- 
ods of  home  government,  varied  as  much  as  possible  from 
each  other. 

Uri,  Schwiz,  Unterwalden,  and  Glarus  were  typical  rural 
communities.  In  time  they  had  grown  to  be  pure  democ- 
racies. The  sovereign  people  exercised  their  powers  directly 
in  open-air  popular  assemblies,  or  Landsgemeinden,  of  their 
own  choice.  Usually  a  council  was  elected  to  attend  to  the 
daily  needs  and  current  business  of  the  community,  but  it 
was  characteristic  of  these  Landsgemeinde  states  that  the 
supreme  power  emanated  from  the  people  themselves,  and 
was  only  delegated  to  the  magistrates. 

184 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   CONFEDERATION.     185 

In  the  cities  the  procedure  was  reversed.  Here  the 
supreme  power  was  lodged  in  the  chief  magistrate  and  his 
council,  and  distributed  from  above,  as  it  were,  upon  the 
people,  with  greater  or  less  liberality,  according  to  the 
amount  of  privilege  which  the  latter  had  wrung  from  their 
rulers. 

On  the  whole,  Zurich  had  made  greater  progress  than  any 
of  the  other  cities  in  the  direction  of  democracy.  The  first, 
second,  and  third  Sworn  Briefs  all  indicated  successive 
stages  in  the  emancipation  of  the  common  people,  in  giving 
them  greater  influence  in  the  government.  The  power  of 
the  aristocratic  Konstaffel  was  steadily  being  curtailed  to  the 
profit  of  the  guilds;  two  Biirgermeister  were  elected  instead 
of  one,  and  to  serve  only  half  a  year  each;  and,  finally,  the 
Great  Council  of  Two  Hundred,  which  at  first  was  only  con- 
sulted on  very  exceptional  occasions,  was  declared  supreme, 
and  constituted  a  sort  of  court  of  last  appeal. 

Bern,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  representative  of  aristo- 
cratic principles.  Here  commercial  interests  were  always 
subordinate  to  military  and  administrative  needs.  Hence  the 
guilds  never  acquired  any  prominence,  but  were  promptly  sup- 
pressed by  the  authorities,  whenever  they  showed  signs  of 
vigorous  growth.  The  chief  magistrate  was  called  Schul- 
theiss ;  he  and  the  council  of  twelve  were  elected  exclusively 
from  the  ranks  of  the  aristocracy.  It  was,  therefore,  a  decided 
democratic  innovation  when  workingmen  were  admitted  to  a 
share  in  electing  the  Great  Council  of  Two  Hundred. 

Luzern  occupied  a  position  somewhere  midway  between 
these  two  cities,  with  the  character  of  a  conservative  democ- 
racy. There  was  a  Schultheiss  and  council  to  which  all  citi- 
zens were  eligible,  but  guilds  were  here  also  strictly  forbidden. 

In  Zug  a  distinction  must  be  made  between  the  city  proper 
and  the  country  district,  or  Amt.  The  two  together  formed  a 
democracy  after  the  pattern  of  the  Forest  States,  but  the  city 
had  its  own  Schultheiss  and  council. 

Apart  from  these  differences   in  the  constitutions  of   the 


186          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

several  States,  there  was  a  further  obstacle  to  their  union.  It 
so  happened  that  their  boundaries  were  by  no  means  every- 
where contiguous,  that  tracts  of  alien  lands  entered  between 
them  like  wedges,  or  that  some  of  them  were  even  isolated 
from  the  rest  and  completely  surrounded  by  enemies.  The 
whole  did  not  form  a  well-rounded,  compact  territory. 

One  may  well  ask,  therefore,  how  it  came  to  pass  that  so 
motley  a  Confederation,  made  up  of  members  differing  so 
widely  from  one  another,  united  by  such  slender  political 
bonds,  and  sometimes  geographically  separated,  could  hold 
together  at  all.  Similar  leagues  cropped  up  in  various  parts 
of  the  German  Empire,  flourished  for  a  while,  and  then  van- 
ished into  oblivion.  Why  was  it  that  the  Swiss  alone  sur- 
vived ?  Probably  no  one  reason,  taken  by  itself,  will  answer 
this  question  satisfactorily. 

Great  stress,  however,  may  be  laid  upon  two  points  of  vital 
importance.  One  is  that  the  members  of  the  Swiss  Confeder- 
ation were  really  driven  into  union  by  the  conduct  of  their 
common  foe,  Austria,  and  another  is  that,  whatever  may  have 
been  their  relations  to  each  other,  they  were  all  leagued  to  the 
three  Forest  States  as  a  connecting  link.  Mr.  Vincent  has 
illustrated  this  singular  relationship  in  his  pamphlet  entitled 
"A  Study  in  Swiss  History",  by  comparing  it  to  a  "tele- 
phone service  in  which  the  three  original  cantons  acted  as  the 
central  exchange.  When  the  later  states  wished  the  help  of 
the  League  they  called  on  the  forest  cantons,  and  the  latter 
summoned  the  rest.  There  were  some  cross-connections,  but 
in  general  the  touch  was  direct."1  It  must  also  be  reckoned 
as  an  element  of  strength  that  the  leagues  were  concluded  in 
perpetuity,  although  it  is  also  true  that  this  principle  had  to 
be  sacrificed  in  the  case  of  Glarus  and  Zug.  A  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  documents  drawn  up  when  the  various  states 
joined  the  Confederation,  will  reveal  that  they  agree  in  cer- 
tain essential  particulars  —  all  have  a  clause  which  gives  them 
priority  over  leagues  concluded  with  outside  powers;  they 

1  Page  6. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   CONFEDERATION.      187 

establish  the  duty  of  mutual  help  in  time  of  danger,  and 
enforce  the  principle  of  arbitration  in  case  of  disputes.  In  a 
measure,  therefore,  the  stability  of  the  Confederation  was 
better  provided  for  than  would  appear  from  a  first  glance  at 
the  documents. 

But  the  contracting  parties  were  wise  not  to  rest  content 
with  these  safeguards,  however  important  they  might  be;  an 
effort  was  made  to  formulate  more  definite  and  substantial 
guarantees  for  their  union.  The  first  step  taken  toward  this 
end  was  the  signing  of  the  Priest's  Charter.  Its  more  import- 
ant provisions  are  as  follows  : 

i.  All  vassals  of  Austria,  whether  clergy  or  laity,  nobles  or 
commoners,  who  desire  to  take  up  their  abode  upon  territory 
belonging  to  the  Confederation,  shall  swear  fealty  to  the  Con- 
federates. 2.  Especially  shall  no  foreign  ecclesiastic,  dwell- 
ing in  the  Confederation,  summon  others  before  foreign 
tribunals,  but  shall  appear  before  those  of  the  particular  place 
where  he  is  domiciled,  except  in  cases  where  matrimonial  or 
ecclesiastical  interests  are  involved.  3.  A  priest  who  disobeys 
these  injunctions  shall  be  outlawed.  ...  9.  The  contract- 
ing parties  guarantee  the  safety  of  all  roads  from  the  Stiebende 
Briicke  on  the  St.  Gothard  route  (a  bridge  which  used  to  hang 
from  chains  at  the  spot  where  the  tunnel  Urnerloch  has  since 
been  made)  as  far  as  Zurich.1 

The  keynote  of  the  document,  that,  in  fact,  which  has  given 
a  name  to  the  whole,  is  contained  in  the  provision  regarding 
the  clergy.  It  is  expressly  and  unmistakably  declared  that  no 
ultramontane  policy  will  be  tolerated,  the  clergy  are  told  in 
plain  words  to  mind  their  own  business  —  an  attitude  which 
the  Swiss  people  as  a  whole,  have  always  maintained.  Two 
innovations  are  likewise  noticeable  in  the  Priest's  Charter  — 
the  name  Eidgenossenschaft,  or  Confederation,  here  makes  its 
first  official  appearance.  The  principle  that  a  majority  of  the 
contracting  parties  would  suffice  to  amend  the  Charter  is  also 
new,  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  no  longer  being  necessary, 
as  agreed  in  former  leagues. 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.    p.  99. 


188          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Another  advance  toward  closer  union  was  made  in  the  Cov- 
enant of  Sempach  (Sempacherbrief),  to  which  all  the  eight 
States,  without  exception,  as  well  as  Solothurn,  set  their  seals. 
"Whereas  they  had  fought  and  won  against  Austria,"  said  the 
document,  "they  now  desired  to  make  provision  for  future 
attacks."  I.  It  was  agreed  that  no  Confederate  should  break 
into  the  house  of  another  with  intent  to  plunder  either  in  war  or 
peace.  2.  The  safety  of  merchants  in  person  and  goods  was 
guaranteed.  3.  Those  who  should  take  part  in  future  military 
expeditions  were  to  stand  by  one  another,  whatever  might  hap- 
pen, like  true  men,  as  also  their  forefathers  did.  4.  Should 
anyone  desert  in  war,  or  break  any  of  the  rules  of  this  Cove- 
nant, and  his  guilt  be  attested  by  at  least  two  honorable  men, 
he  should  be  promptly  punished  in  his  person  and  goods, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  state  to  which  he  belonged.  5. 
The  wounded  were  to  stay  by  their  comrades  until  all  danger 
was  past,  nor  be  considered  deserters  if  unable  to  help.  6. 
Since  many  of  the  enemy  escaped  at  Sempach  who  would  have 
remained  upon  the  field,  had  the  Confederates  set  off  in  pursuit, 
and  not  stopped  to  plunder,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that, 
in  future,  no  man  be  allowed  to  pillage  until,  the  fight  being  at 
an  end,  the  captains  should  give  permission  to  do  so,  and  that 
afterward  the  spoils  should  be  distributed  to  every  man  an 
equal  share.  7.  "And  since  Almighty  God  said  that  His 
houses  were  houses  of  prayer,"  all  monasteries,  churches,  and 
chapels  should  be  inviolate,  unless  the  enemy  took  shelter  in 
them.  8.  Women  should  not  be  attacked  unless  they  warned 
the  enemy  by  an  outcry  or  fought  themselves,  in  which  case 
they  could  be  punished  as  they  deserved.  9.  Finally  the  con- 
tracting parties  were  of  unanimous  opinion  that  none  of  them 
hereafter  should  provoke  war  wantonly,  without  due  cause,  or 
without  warning,  as  provided  for  in  the  various  leagues.1 

In  contrast  with  the  prevalent  practices  of  warfare  in  the 
middle  ages  these  provisions  must  be  looked  upon  as  eminent- 
ly humane.  Dandliker,  in  fact,  calls  the  Covenant  of  Sempach 

JOechsli,  \V.      Quellenbuch.     p.  no. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   CONFEDERATION.     189 

"The  first  attempt,  made  by  any  people,  to  restrain  somewhat 
the  fury  of  war,  to  regulate  military  disciples  and  leadership 
by  an  intelligent,  humane  law."1  Elsewhere  he  adds:  "The 
Confederation,  which  in  the  nineteenth  century  founded  the 
Geneva  Convention,  for  the  protection  of  the  wounded,  had 
already,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  tempered  the  barbarity  of  war."2 

Of  regular  Diets  (Tagsatzungen),  as  they  existed  later  in  the 
Confederation,  it  would  be  premature  to  speak  at  this  time. 
If  delegates  from  some  of  the  States  met  occasionally  to  dis- 
cuss matters  of  common  interest,  the  occurrence  was  so  rare 
and  accidental  as  to  have  but  little  influence  as  yet  on  the 
maintainance  of  the  union. 

The  ancient  Confederation  of  Eight  States,  therefore,  pre- 
sented the  strange  spectacle  of  a  group  of  sovereign  communi- 
ties, each  enjoying  the  utmost  liberty  of  action  imaginable, 
bound  together  by  no  central  authority,  either  executive,  legis- 
lative or  judiciary,  and  yet  united  by  perpetual  leagues  which 
proved  sufficiently  strong  to  secure  immunity  from  without 
and  peace  within.  Truly  a  unique  type  of  federalism,  at  once 
elastic  and  stable,  capable  of  great  expansion,  without  over- 
straining the  bonds  by  which  it  was  held  together. 

As  for  the  social  aspect  of  this  fourteenth  century,  its  sign 
and  token  was  the  steady  decline  in  the  power  of  the  nobility, 
with  a  corresponding  improvement  in  the  position  of  the  com- 
mon people.  Such  a  turning  of  tables  was,  of  course,  no 
matter  of  chance,  but  rather  the  direct  result  of  forces  work- 
ing quietly  within  the  social  fabric.  The  growth  of  commerce 
and  manufacturing  in  the  cities,  to  dimensions  unheard  of  in 
the  preceding  century,  had  the  effect  of  raising  the  merchant 
and  artisan  at  the  expense  of  the  nobility,  both  as  regards 
wealth,  political  influence  and  social  prestige.  At  the  same 
time,  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  many  noblemen  became 
citizens,  and  in  their  new  positions  continued  to  wield  enor- 

1  Geschichle  der  Schweiz.     Vol.  I,  p.  560. 

2  Ibid.    p.  594. 


190  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

mous  power  over  the  destinies  of  their  adopted  states.  To 
add  to  the  changed  conditions  of  the  century,  money  now  came 
into  general  use  as  a  medium  of  exchange  in  place  of  articles 
in  kind.  A  great  part  of  the  land,  which  had  at  one  time 
been  owned  almost  exclusively  by  the  nobility  fell  into  the 
hands  of  rich  commoners,  for  the  former,  in  order  to  procure 
money,  were  constrained  to  sell  tfieir  lands  or  to  raise  mort- 
gages upon  them,  and  in  either  case  to  see  their  possessions 
pass  away  to  persons  of  a  lower  grade  in  the  social  scale.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  any  great  benefits  resulted  from  this 
change  of  land  ownership,  or  that  the  new  class  of  landlords 
were  less  exacting  in  their  demands  upon  the  tenants  than  the 
old.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  land  was 
more  evenly  distributed  after  this  movement  than  before,  while 
the  institution  of  serfdom  made  it  practically  immaterial  to  the 
tenants,  whether  or  no  great  city  commoners  were  substituted 
for  country  noblemen.  Another  prerogative  of  the  nobility 
was  swept  away  when  the  principle  reasserted  itself  that  all 
men  could  bear  arms.  This  had  been  the  rule  amongst  the 
ancient  Germans,  but  the  feudal  system  had  excluded  the 
serfs,  and  made  it  the  special  privilege  of  freemen  only. 

In  one  sense,  the  noblest  portion  of  Swiss  history  virtually 
ended  with  the  battle  of  Nafels.  For,  although  the  succeed- 
ing period  saw  the  Confederation  reach  the  very  height  of 
military  glory,  still  the  motives  for  action  were  never  again  so 
pure,  so  genuine,  as  in  these  early  days.  A  new  stage  of 
development  had  been  reached.  Abandoning  the  attitude  of 
mere  self-defence  which  had  characterized  their  general  policy 
so  far,  the  Confederates  entered  upon  an  era  of  conquest.  It 
seemed  as  though  they  had  outgrown  their  sturdy  childhood, 
and,  pressing  forward,  felt  within  them  the  desire  of  manhood 
to  display  their  strength,  for,  one  by  one,  the  communities  upon 
their  borders  fell  within  the  orbit  of  their  attraction  —  some 
to  be  conquered  outright,  while  others,  of  their  own  free  will, 
drew  near  to  enjoy  the  fellowship  of  common  democratic 
aspirations. 


BOOK  III. 

THE  CONFEDERATION  AT  THE  HEIGHT  OF  ITS  MILITARY 

POWER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

APPENZELL    AND    ST.  G ALLEN. 

THE  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  marks  an  era  of 
great  territorial  expansion  in  the  history  of  the  Con- 
federation. There  was  evidently  something  contagious  in  the 
very  success  of  the  Swiss.  Their  steadfast  resistance  to 
feudal  rule,  their  wonderful  powers  of  organization  and  con- 
tinued victories  upon  the  battle-field,  all  this  excited  the 
admiration  and  envy  of  the  less-favored  peasantry  in  neigh- 
boring lands.  Independent  communities  and  miniature 
leagues  sprang  into  existence  on  every  hand.  In  time  they 
naturally  gravitated  toward  the  Swiss  Confederation  as  a 
common  centre,  and,  at  the  proper  moment,  sought  admission 
within  its  ranks. 

As  a  rule,  this  final  consummation  was  brought  about  after 
the  new  community  had  first  obtained  citizenship  in  one  of 
the  States.  Thus  the  mountaineers  of  Appenzell  were 
admitted  to  the  rights  of  citizenship  in  Schwiz,  those  of  Grau- 
biinden  in  Glarus,  and  those  of  Valais  in  Uri,  Unterwalden, 
and  Luzern,  before  they  became  full-fledged  members  of  the 
Confederation  as  a  whole. 

In  the  north-eastern  corner  of  Switzerland,  near  the  lake 
of  Constance,  rises  a  highland  region,  culminating  in  the 
mountain  group  of  the  Sentis.  It  comprises  the  modern 
Cantons  of  Appenzell  and  St.  Gallen  —  a  little  world  apart, 
with  peculiar  local  traits  and  an  historical  development  of  its 
own. 

No  definite  information  has  come  down  to  us  of  its  con- 
dition prior  to  the  founding  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Gallen,  but 

193 


194  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

after  that  date  the  history  of  the  monastery  becomes  practically 
identified  with  that  of  the  whole  district.  .  Powerful  Abbots 
exercised  jurisdiction  in  all  minor  matters,  by  virtue  of  their 
position  as  land-owners,  while  the  supreme  authority  still 
reposed  in  the  hands  of  an  imperial  bailiff;  in  other  words,  the 
district  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  the  immunity.  At  the 
end  of  the  thirteenth  and  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century 
a  change  gradually  manifested  itself ;  a  period  of  discontent  set 
in.  Two  centres  of  opposition  sprang  into  existence  within 
the  vast  estates  of  the  monastery,  ominous  and  threatening  to 
the  rule  of  the  Abbots ;  first  the  city  of  St.  Gallen,  which  had 
grown  from  small  beginnings  around  the  hermit  cell  of  Gallus, 
and  then  the  outlying  country  district  of  Appenzell,  its  name 
doubtless  a  corruption  of  Abtes  Zelle,  Abbot's  Cell. 

The  city  of  St.  Gallen  had  originally  been  governed  by 
officials  of  the  monastery,  as  an  ecclesiastical  piece  of  property. 
During  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  however,  the 
city  developed  by  degrees  into  a  free  city  of  the  empire,  elect- 
ing its  own  magistrates  and  subject  only  to  the  imperial  bailiff. 
Its  inhabitants  grew  rich  through  the  perfection  of  their  linen 
weaving,  guilds  were  instituted  with  representation  in  the 
council,  somewhat  after  the  pattern  of  Zurich,  and  finally,  as 
a  sign  of  complete  emancipation,  the  citizens  initiated  an  inde- 
pendent foreign  policy,  by  joining  the  league  of  Swabian  cities. 

Appenzell's  progress  toward  freedom  began  somewhat  later. 
It  is  true  that  the  hardy  mountaineers  of  that  district  more 
than  once  found  themselves  obliged  to  resist  oppressive  meas- 
ures instituted  by  various  Abbots,  but  their  main  prerogative, 
the  imperial  immunity,  was  not  seriously  threatened  until 
1345.  In  that  year  the  ruling  Abbot  gained  the  office  of 
imperial  bailiff  over  their  principal  villages,  which  prerogative, 
added  to  those  he  already  possessed,  made  him  absolute 
master  of  the  situation.  For  awhile  the  country  people  sub- 
mitted to  this  new  state  of  things,  waiting  for  a  convenient 
time  to  win  back  their  former  liberties.  In  1377,  five  villages, 
Appenzell,  Hundwil,  Teufen,  Urnasch  and  Gais,  uniting  under 


APPENZELL  AND  ST.    GALLEN.  19S 

the  name  of  the  first,  joined  the  league  of  Swabian  cities,  and 
a  year  later  created  a  council  (Landratk)  of  thirteen  members, 
to  be  elected  by  the  people  themselves.  It  was  probably  about 
this  same  time  also  that  the  institution  of  a  Landsgemeinde, 
with  the  presiding  Ammann,  made  its  first  appearance  in 
Appenzell. 

In  all  their  aspirations  after  freedom,  and  in  the  means 
which  they  took  toward  that  end,  these  people  were  influ- 
enced by  the  conduct  of  their  neighbors,  the  Swiss  Confeder- 
ates. Every  success  of  the  latter  sent  an  answering  thrill  of 
hope  throughout  the  little  land  of  Appenzell.  Sempach  and 
Nafels  inspired  them  with  new  hope,  revealed  to  them  what 
extraordinary  results  could  be  accomplished  by  united  action 
against  tremendous  odds,  and  showed  them  the  road  which 
would  lead  them  eventually  to  full  and  perfect  independence. 
Heretofore  Appenzell  and  St.  Gallen  had  acted  apart,  being 
united  only  through  their  common  membership  in  a  league  of 
cities  on  the  lake  of  Constance,  which  had  survived  the  down- 
fall of  the  Swabian  league,  but,  in  1401,  during  the  rule  of  an 
unusually  tyrannical  Abbot,  Kuno  von  Stoffeln,  they  came 
together  in  an  alliance  which  was  to  last  for  seven  years. 
Both  parties  were  reinforced  by  other  communities  of  the 
neighborhood,  all  alike  threatened  'by  the  Abbot,  so  that  the 
movement  was  distinctly  formidable,  and  could  not  be  over- 
looked. A  few  months  later  the  allies  proceeded  to  acts  of 
open  hostility.  They  attacked  the  possessions  of  the  monas- 
tery, and  destroyed  the  hated  stronghold  of  Clanx,  which 
commanded  the  village  of  Appenzell.  Before  they  could 
advance  to  other  deeds  of  violence,  however,  Kuno  checked 
their  proceedings  by  a  clever  manoeuvre.  He  brought  the 
whole  matter  before  the  league  of  imperial  cities  to  which 
Appenzell  and  St.  Gallen  belonged,  and  secured  a  favorable 
verdict,  for  delegates  assembled  at  Constance  affirmed  that 
their  alliance  violated  the  rights  of  the  Abbot,  and  must,  there- 
fore, be  annulled. 

It   is    instructive  to   notice  how  differently  the  two  sides 


19G          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

received  this  sentence.  Rich  St.  Gallen,  whose  strength  lay 
in  commerce  and  manufactures,  yielded  timidly,  throwing  over 
a  tried  friend  for  fear  of  the  Abbot  and  the  imperial  cities ;  but 
Appenzell,  the  land  of  poor  peasants,  stood  undaunted  and  dis- 
dainfully ignored  what  they  considered  an  unwarranted  inter- 
ference from  outsiders. 

Then  it  was  that  the  men  of  Appenzell,  abandoned  alike  by 
the  city  which  ought  to  have  been  their  natural  ally,  as  well  as 
by  the  more  distant  cities,  which  circumstances  had  tempora- 
rily joined  to  them,  turned  as  a  last  refuge  to  a  member  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation.  In  1403,  they  made  common  cause  with 
the  state  of  Schwiz,  were  admitted  to  the  protection  of  its 
laws  (Landrechf),  and  received  as  their  chief  magistrate  an 
Ammann  from  that  community.  It  is,  of  course,  to  be  regret- 
ted that  Appenzell  was  not  able  to  secure  help  on  better  terms, 
for,  in  reality,  Schwiz  immediately  assumed  the  powers  of  a 
ruler,  as  being  the  stronger  of  the  two.  Great  scandal  also 
arose  in  the  Confederation  at  this  separate  alliance ;  Zurich 
expostulated,  jealous  of  any  gains  which  Schwiz  might  make 
in  territorial  possessions,  but  the  allies  clung  faithfully  to  one 
another. 

Thus  strengthened  in  their  resolve,  the  mountaineers  of 
Appenzell  ventured  to  take  up  arms.  They  proceeded  to  com- 
mit a  series  of  depredations  and  incursions  into  the  Abbot's 
estates,  so  that,  in  1403,  the  latter  was  forced  to  collect  his  sub- 
jects, and  to  call  upon  the  imperial  German  cities  for  troops. 
As  soon  as  reinforcements  had  arrived,  he  set  out  from  St.  Gal- 
len, to  invade  the  rebellious  country,  accompanied  by  a  detach- 
ment from  the  city  itself.  His  way  lay  through  the  villages  of 
Speicher  and  Trogen,  over  a  hill  known  as  Vogelinsegg,  now 
much  prized  on  account  of  the  extensive  view  which  may  be 
enjoyed  from  its  summit.  The  men  of  Appenzell  seem  to 
have  been  fully  informed  of  the  projected  route.  Just  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  therefore,  behind  a  Letzi  (redoubt),  they 
posted  a  part  .of  their  forces,  the  rest,  comprising  reinforce- 
ments from  Schwiz,  they  drew  off  to  one  side,  in  order  to 


APPENZELL  AND  ST.    GALLEN.  197 

attack  the  enemy  simultaneously  on  the  front  and  flank.  It 
is  impossible  to  speak  with  any  certainty  of  the  numbers 
engaged  on  the  two  sides  ;  they  could  not  have  been  great, 
probably  a  few  hundred  defenders  and  a  few  thousand  inva- 
ders. Everything  went  off  as  the  men  of  Appenzell  had 
expected.  The  Abbot's  troops  advanced,  without  taking  the 
slightest  precautions,  into  the  path  enclosed  by  high  banks 
which  led  over  the  hill,  and  so  fell  easily  into  the  trap  set  for 
them.  Unable  to  deploy  their  strength  on  account  of  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  they  were  thrown  into  the  utmost  con- 
fusion, and  driven  back  upon  St.  Gallen  with  a  loss  of  more 
than  two  hundred  men. 

With  right  has  this  battle  of  Vogelinsegg  been  called  the 
Morgarten  of  Appenzell,  the  baptismal  day  of  a  new  democ- 
racy with  a  special  role  to  play.  A  thirst  for  conquest,  a  fiery 
zeal  for  the  liberation  of  the  less  fortunate  who  were  still  in 
bondage,  seemed  to  seize  the  men  of  Appenzell.  "  Now,  for 
the  first  time,"  says  the  so-called  Klingenberg  Chronicle, 
"they  became  really  brave  and  bold,"1  destroying  the  castles 
of  the  nobility,  setting  free  their  subjects,  and  proclaiming  the 
good  news  of  liberty. 

A  cry  of  alarm  went  up  from  those  whose  interests  were 
threatened  by  this  overwhelming  democratic  wave.  Measures 
were  devised  for  checking  its  career.  There  was  a  general 
rearrangement  of  allies  for  the  coming  struggle.  The  league  of 
imperial  cities  withdrew  their  support  from  the  Abbot;  St. 
Gallen  was  reconciled  to  Appenzell.  But  the  whole  movement 
received  a  new  aspect  when  Kuno,  ever  watchful  for  his  inter- 
ests, conceived  the  idea  of  calling  upon  Austria  for  support  in 
his  pretensions,  hoping  that,  if  that  power  became  involved  in 
the  struggle,  the  Confederates  and  thus  Schwiz,  also,  would  be 
debarred  from  helping  Appenzell  on  account  of  the  twenty-years' 
peace  between  the  Swiss  and  the  Dukes  of  Austria,  which 
would  not  expire  until  1415.  His  request  found  favor  with 
the  reigning  Duke,  Frederic  IV.,  son  of  the  Leopold  who  was 

iQechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.     p.  115. 


198  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

slain  at  Sempach,  but  he  was  mistaken  if  he  thought  that 
Schwiz  would  abandon  Appenzell,  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in 
spite  of  the  twenty-years'  peace,  and  the  remonstrances  of  the 
other  Confederates,  that  State  continued  as  heretofore  to  sup- 
port the  rebellious  mountaineers.  Furthermore,  if  the  Abbot 
won  a  new  ally,  so  did  the  men  of  Appenzell. 

There  was  a  certain  Count  Rudolf  von  Werdenberg-Heili- 
genberg,  a  relative  of  that  Count  of  Werdenberg-Sargans  who 
had  conducted  himself  in  such  a  cowardly  manner  at  Nafels. 
This  nobleman  had  sunk  to  a  condition  of  beggary,  partly 
through  financial  embarrassments  which  were  the  result  of  his 
own  extravagance,  and  partly  through  the  deliberate  persecu- 
tions of  the  Dukes  of  Austria.  In  his  despair,  it  was  only 
natural  that  he  should  forget  how  much  he  had  himself  contri- 
buted toward  his  misfortunes,  and  should  cast  the  whole 
blame  upon  his  relentless  enemy.  In  1404,  having  lost  even 
his  ancestral  castle,  Count  Rudolf  determined  upon  a  most 
unusual  expedient;  he  offered  his  service  as  an  experienced 
warrior  to  the  peasants  of  Appenzell,  if  they,  in  their  turn, 
would  promise  to  help  him  regain  his  possessions. 

We  must  not  look  upon  this  act  as  though  it  had  been 
inspired  by  a  lofty  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  liberty,  since 
it  was,  in  truth,  a  mere  business  compact  entered  into  with  the 
hope  of  realizing  substantial  advantage.  Nor  do  the  men  of 
Appenzell  seem  to  have  lost  sight  of  this  fact,  for,  according  to 
the  Klingenberg  Chronicle,  "they  did  not  trust  him  alto- 
gether." It  is  known,  also,  that  they  made  him  promise  to 
submit  to  all  the  ordinances  which  Schwiz  might  issue  in  her 
capacity  as  protector  of  the  country.  He  became  a  simple 
citizen  of  Appenzell,  and  "went  with  them  on  foot,  like  any 
peasant ;  for  they  would  not  that  he  should  wear  a  coat-of-arms 
or  anything  different  from  one  of  them." 

Yielding  at  length  to  the  renewed  cries  for  help  which  came 
from  the  Abbot  and  the  nobility,  Duke  Frederic  of  Austria 
prepared  to  put  down  the  rebellion  in  Appenzell.  At  the  last 
moment  he  made  an  attempt,  happily  an  unsuccessful  one,  to 


APPENZELL  AND  ST.   GALLEN.  199 

win  over  some  of  the  Swiss  States  to  his  side  by  taking  advan- 
tage of  a  temporary  breach  that  had  made  its  appearance  in 
the  Confederation  between  the  aristocratic  cities  and  the  demo- 
cratic country-districts,  due,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  support 
Schwiz  was  giving  Appenzell.  The  strong  feeling  of  unity 
amongst  the  Confederates,  however,  caused  his  intrigue  to 
miscarry  completely,  and  he  proceeded  in  person  to  the  scene 
of  action. 

The  plan  of  the  invaders  resolved  itself  into  a  double  attack. 
While  Frederic  of  Austria  led  a  small  detachment  to  St.  Gal- 
len  in  order  to  prevent  that  city  from  co-operating  with  Appen- 
zell, the  main  force  was  to  penetrate  into  the  latter  country, 
the  real  centre  of  the  whole  disturbance,  and  inflict  a  crushing 
blow. 

In  accordance  with  this  arrangement,  the  Duke  marched 
from  Arbon,  took  possession  of  the  Hauptlisberg,  an  eminence 
which  commands  St.  Gallen  upon  the  North,  and  held  the 
attention  of  the  burghers  away  from  their  allies  in  Appenzell 
by  skirmishing.  The  very  next  day,  however,  as  he  was  with- 
drawing his  troops  in  loose  order,  a  sortie  was  made  from  the 
city  and  a  number  of  his  men  were  killed. 

In  the  meantime,  a  decisive  battle  was  being  fought  between 
the  main  body  of  the  Austrians  and  the  mountaineers  of 
Appenzell.  On  the  i/th  of  June,  1405,  the  invaders,  more 
than  1 200  strong,  toiled  up  the  long,  steep  road  from  Altstat- 
ten  to  Gais,  made  slippery  by  much  rain.  Just  below  the 
highest  point  of  the  road,  near  the  mountain  spur  known  as  the 
Stoss,  they  came  upon  the  Letzi  which  guarded  the  frontiers, 
but  finding  it  deserted,  they  pushed  on  into  the  country  of 
Appenzell,  confident  of  victory.  When  they  had  advanced 
not  more  than  the  length  of  a  bowshot  further,  a  force  of  400 
of  the  enemy  suddenly  sprang  from  their  hiding-places,  rushed 
down  upon  them,  hurling  stones  and  other  missiles,  and  forced 
them  to  retreat.  The  Austrians  were  hemmed  in ;  behind 
them  rose  the  Letzi  and  in  front  came  the  agile  mountaineers. 
After  a  short  resistance  they  attempted  to  escape  through  an 


200  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

opening  in  the  Letzi,  but  it  was  so  small  that  only  a  few  of  the 
fugitives  could  pass  at  a  time.  The  press  developed  into  a 
panic ;  the  Austrians  trampled  upon  each  other,  or  fell  easy 
victims  to  their  pursuers.  The  survivors  fled  precipitately  to 
Altstatten. 

Evidently  the  invasion  upon  which  the  Abbot  of  St.  Gallen 
had  relied  to  restore  him  to  power,  was  an  utter  failure. 

But  the  result  of  his  supreme  effort  was  not  merely  negative, 
for  a  spirit  had  been  conjured  up  before  which  the  whole  coun- 
try round  about  was  soon  to  quail.  First,  the  mountaineers  of 
Appenzell  fortified  themselves  by  concluding  alliances  with 
neighboring  communities,  and  then,  as  though  intoxicated  with 
their  recent  success,  they  broke  forth  from  their  mountain  fast- 
nesses to  overrun  the  whole  region  which  lies  to  the  southeast 
of  the  lake  of  Constance,  destroying  the  castles  of  the  nobility, 
and  inciting  the  peasants  to  rebellion.  With  irresistible  force, 
they  poured  down  upon  the  Thurgau,  across  the  Rhine  into  the 
Vorarlberg  and  Tyrol,  sweeping  together  all  their  vanquished 
or  voluntary  adherents  into  one  mighty  but  unorganized  League 
of  the  People,  which  they  called  the  League  above  the  Lake 
(Bund  ob  dem  See),  to  distinguish  it  from  another  league  of 
cities  around  the  lake  of  Constance.  Nor  did  they  fail  to 
reward  their  allies  of  Schwiz,  to  whom  they  presented  the 
district  of  the  March,  while  Count  Rudolf  of  Werdenberg 
received  his  ancestral  castle,  according  to  agreement,  although 
he  was  not  able  to  hold  it  for  long,  and  died  a  few  years  later, 
poor  and  childless. 

In  the  face  of  this  extraordinary  uprising,  the  whole  machin- 
ery of  the  feudal  system  seems  to  have  broken  down,  showing 
itself  perfectly  powerless  to  check  the  aspirations  of  the  people 
after  freedom.  In  1406,  Duke  Frederic  saw  himself  con- 
strained to  conclude  a  two-years'  truce  with  the  League  above 
the  Lake,  leaving  the  peasants  in  full  possession  of  their  con- 
quests, while  the  Abbot  Kuno,  deeply  humiliated,  actually 
agreed  to  enter  into  the  protection  of  Appenzell  and  St. 
Gallen,  his  former  subjects. 


APPENZELL  AND  ST.    GALLEN.  201 

Not  that  this  state  of  things  endured  very  long.  The  haste 
with  which  the  league  had  been  patched  together,  the  incongru- 
ous  material  of  which  it  was  composed,  and  the  extravagances 
into  which  the  liberated  peasants  were  betrayed,  militated 
against  its  stability.  A  reaction  set  in,  until,  in  the  winter  of 
1407,  an  army  of  nobles  surprised  the  men  of  Appenzell  as  they 
lay  before  Bregenz,  under  the  leadership  of  a  captain  from 
Schwiz,  Conrad  Kupferschmied.  Strangely  enough,  this  insig- 
nificant defeat  was  the  cause  of  far-reaching  results,  altogether 
disproportionately  great.  For  the  men  of  Appenzell,  who  had 
heretofore  been  universally  victorious,  now  felt  that  their 
invincibility  was  broken,  and  so,  discouraged  and  deserted, 
retreated  to  the  mountains,  whence  they  had  issued  like  an  all- 
devouring  avalanche  a  few  years  before. 

King  Ruprecht  himself  came  to  Constance  to  deliver  sen- 
tence in  regard  to  the  whole  matter  in  dispute.  He  decided 
that  the  League  above  the  Lake  should  be  dissolved,  and  the 
men  of  Appenzell  return  once  more  into  their  former  relation 
toward  the  Abbot.  They  distinctly  refused,  however,  to  com- 
ply with  these  demands,  and  defiantly  held  their  own  against 
the  head  of  the  empire,  biding  their  time  as  they  had  done  on 
a  former  occasion. 

The  answer  to  Ruprecht's  demands  came  in  1411,  when  the 
undaunted  mountaineers  of  Appenzell  enlarged  their  alliance 
with  Schwiz  into  a  wider  treaty  with  the  other  members  of 
the  Swiss  Confederation,  Bern  alone  holding  aloof  in  the  pur- 
suit of  a  cautious  and  independent  policy.  As  before,  this 
Burg  and  Landrecht  placed  Appenzell  in  a  subordinate  posi- 
tion under  the  virtual  protectorate  of  the  seven  states,  but  it 
contained  the  promise  of  a  closer  and  more  equitable  union  in 
the  future.  In  1412,  St.  Gallen,  likewise,  followed  the  example 
of  her  old  ally,  by  concluding  a  similar  Burg  and  Landrecht 
with  the  seven  states,  so  that  hereafter,  for  weal  or  for  woe, 
the  interests  of  the  whole  region  comprised  by  the  modern 
cantons  of  Appenzell  and  St.  Gallen,  were  bound  up  in  those 
of  the  Swiss  Confederation. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   VALAIS    AND    GRAUBUNDEN. 

NONE  of  the  cantons  which  are  now  included  in  French- 
speaking  Switzerland,  took  any  part  whatever  in  build- 
ing up  the  Swiss  Confederation.  Throughout  the  whole 
period,  during  which  the  Forest  States  were  struggling  for 
emancipation  from  Habsburg- Austria,  they  lay  in  apathetic 
subjection  to  a  multitude  of  spiritual  and  temporal  masters. 
The  only  exception  to  this  general  indifference  was  found 
amongst  the  people  of  the  Valais  (German  Wallis),  the  various 
forms  of  the  name  being  derived  from  the  Latin  vallis,  a 
valley. 

Says  the  Abb£  Gremaud,  whose  researches  have  cast  so 
much  light  upon  the  early  history  of  that  district :  "  Between 
the  two  highest  mountain  ranges  of  Europe,  there  lies  a  long 
valley,  watered  by  the  upper  Rhone"1.  .  .  This  is  the 
simple  description  of  a  region  which,  from  a  physical  stand- 
point, is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  world;  where  within 
a  small  compass  are  enclosed  a  multitude  of  startling  contrasts. 
The  mountain  ranges  here  mentioned  are  on  the  right  hand, 
the  monster  chain  of  the  Bernese  Alps,  and  on  the  left  that  of 
Monte  Rosa.  One  end  of  the  valley  is  blocked  by  a  glacier, 
the  other  by  a  sunny  lake.  Between  these  two  extremes 
are  to  be  found  all  the  gradations  in  fertility  of  which  nature  is 
capable.  There  are  spots  upon  which  the  full  springtide  of 
Italy  seems  to  have  been  shed,  almost  tropical  in  exuberance : 
others  which  the  boisterous  Rhone  has  converted  into  gravelly 

1  Documents  relatifs  a  1'histoirc  du  Vallais. 

202 


THE    VALAIS  AND    GRAUBVNDEN.  203 

deserts;  there  are  mountain  slopes,  festooned  with  vines  or 
covered  with  exquisite  verdure,  while  opposite  rise  vast  expan- 
ses of  naked  rock,  as  devoid  of  vegetation  as  though  smitten 
with  a  curse.  In  a  few  hours  the  traveler,  passing  up  the  val- 
ley, may  experience  all  the  sensations  from  burning  heat  to 
arctic  cold. 

A  further  contrast  lies  in  the  race  and  language  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  the  upper  part,  from  the  Rhone  glacier  down  to  Sierre, 
being  inhabited  by  men  of  Alamannian  stock  and  speaking 
German ;  while  in  the  lower  part  the  population  is  of  mixed 
Celtic  and  Burgundian  origin,  speaking  numerous  Roman 
dialects,  though  French  is  now  gradually  superseding  the  older 
languages. 

The  same  variety  which  is  observable  in  nature  and  popula- 
tion to-day,  existed  also  from  an  early  date  in  the  political 
affairs  of  the  district. 

After  passing  under  the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  of  the 
two  Burgundian  Kingdoms,  and  of  the  rectorship  of  Zaeringen, 
the  Valais,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  became  the  scene  of  a 
struggle  for  supremacy  between  four  powers  or  elements. 
First  and  foremost  the  Bishops  of  Sion,  whose  diocese  cov- 
ered the  whole  of  the  modern  canton.  The  origin  of  the 
bishopric  is  not  quite  clear;  it  is  known  that,  in  381,  a  certain 
bishop,  Theodore  or  Theodul,  who  was  the  first  ecclesiastical 
of  that  rank  on  Swiss  soil,  had  his  seat  at  Octodurum  (Marti- 
gny),  and  that,  in  585,  a  successor  of  his,  Heliodore,  had 
transferred  it  to  Sedunum  (Sion).  In  the  course  of  the  early 
middle  ages,  the  episcopal  possessions  were  curtailed  by  the 
encroachments  of  a  second  power,  the  house  of  Savoy.  A 
series  of  conflicts  ensued  from  this  cause,  until  it  was  finally 
agreed,  in  1384,  to  fix  the  boundary  between  the  two  at  the 
stream  of  La  Morge  de  Conthey,  just  below  Sion.  A  third 
factor  in  the  political  problem  was  represented  by  the  feudal 
nobility,  a  multitude  of  petty,  quarrelsome  lords,  whose  ruined 
castles  may  still  be  seen  perched  upon  every  available  rock. 
Some  were  vassals  of  the  bishop,  others  of  the  house  of  Savoy, 


204          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

and  others  again  dependent  upon  both.  Amongst  the  princi- 
pal families  were  the  lords  of  La  Tour,  of  Rarogne,  and  Saxon. 

But  what  became  of  the  people  and  of  popular  liberty  in  the 
midst  of  these  rival  factions  ?  Was  there  no  democratic  ele- 
ment to  counteract  aristocratic  rule?  Fortunately  a  fourth 
power  guarded  their  interests.  It  was  the  institution  of  the 
commune,  known  amongst  the  German-speaking  population  as 
the  Zehnte,  which  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time  in  documents 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  but  bears  evidences  of  much  greater 
antiquity.  The  citizens  of  Sion  seem  to  have  been  the  first 
to  organize  themselves  into  a  community  of  this  sort,  and  then 
the  country  districts  followed  their  example.  At  first  the 
communes  confined  their  attention  to  the  management  of 
strictly  local  affairs,  possessing  so-called  Plaits  or  popular 
assemblies,  not  unlike  the  Landsgemeinden  of  German  Switzer- 
land ;  but  later,  from  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  on, 
the  people  began  to  take  part  in  the  general  government  of 
the  whole  country  under  the  auspices  of  the  bishop,  who  sum- 
moned their  representatives  from  time  to  time  to  a  Conseil 
General  de  la  terre  du  Valais. 

The  various  conflicts  for  supremacy  finally  resolved  them- 
selves into  a  well-defined  struggle  between  the  bishop  and  the 
communes  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  house  of  Savoy  with  petty 
nobles  on  the  other.  In  1354,  King  Charles  IV.  confirmed 
the  traditional  liberties  of  the  communes  of  the  upper  Valais. 
In  1375,  a  popular  outbreak  occurred,  directed  against  the  lesser 
nobility.  Bishop  Guichard  Tavelli  was  one  day  at  his  castle 
de  la  Soie,  above  Sion,  when  he  was  attacked  by  order  of  his 
enemy,  lord  Antoine  de  la  Tour,  and  hurled  down  from  a  win- 
dow upon  the  rocks  below.  The  people,  infuriated  by  this 
dastardly  act,  proclaimed  a  war  of  revenge,  defeated  an  army 
of  nobles,  exiled  the  family  of  la  Tour,  and  finally,  in  1388,  in 
the  same  year  as  the  battle  of  Nafels,  inflicted  an  overwhelm- 
ing defeat  upon  Count  Amadeus  VII.,  of  Savoy,  and  his  allies 
at  Visp.  Although  the  communes  did  not  reap  the  full  bene- 
fit of  their  victory  in  the  peace  which  followed,  still  they 


THE    VALAIS  AND    GRAUBUNDEN.  205 

placed  themselves  in  a  position  to  make  good  their  losses  a 
little  later,  by  entering  into  an  alliance  with  certain  members 
of  the  Swiss  Confederation;  for,  in  1403,  the  Bishop  of  Sion 
and  the  people  of  the  Valais  entered  into  the  perpetual  citizen- 
ship (Burg  and  Landrecht)  of  Uri,  Unterwalden,  and  Luzern. 

Trouble  broke  out  again,  after  a  few  years  of  deceptive 
peace.  It  appears  that  the  lords  of  Rarogne,  having  been 
instrumental  in  driving  out  their  rivals  of  la  Tour,  and  finding 
themselves,  as  a  result,  masters  of  the  situation,  abused  their 
power  and  influence  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  people  of  the 
Valais  were  constrained  once  more  to  take  up  arms  in  self- 
defence.  On  this  occasion,  the  patriots  brought  into  play  an 
old  custom,  which  consisted  in  carrying  from  village  to  village 
a  wooden  club  as  a  symbol  of  revolt.  This  Mazze,  as  it  was 
called  from  the  Italian  mazza,  a  club,  had  carved  upon  it  a 
human  face  in  agony,  to  express  violated  justice,  and  was 
deposited  before  the  residence  of  the  lord  of  Rarogne.  The 
latter  had  become  a  citizen  of  Bern,  in  order  to  avail  himself 
of  the  protection  this  step  would  afford  him,  but  the  com- 
munes had  been  admitted  to  the  citizenship  of  Uri,  Unter- 
walden, and  Luzern  by  a  new  alliance,  in  1416.  Here  was  a 
predicament  for  the  Swiss  Confederation  to  be  placed  in.  If 
both  parties  carried  out  their  engagements  to  their  allies,  civil 
war  would  be  the  result.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Bernese 
collected  an  army  and  invaded  the  Valais,  but  one  of  their 
detachments,  which  had  crossed  the  Grimsel,  was  so  com- 
pletely repulsed  at  the  village  of  St.  Ulrichen,  in  1419,  that 
further  attempts  were  abandoned.  Through  the  intervention 
of  the  other  Swiss  Confederates,  peace  was  established,  the 
men  of  Valais  paid  a  heavy  indemnity  to  the  lord  of  Rarogne, 
and  the  latter,  seizing  a  propitious  moment  to  sell  his  estates, 
left  the  country  altogether. 

Hereafter  the  growth  of  the  Valais  into  an  independent 
commonwealth  was  practically  assured.  The  attainment  of 
complete  self-government,  the  triumph  of  democracy,  could  no 
longer  be  prevented  by  the  aristocratic  factions,  and  the  mis- 


206  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

sion  of  the  Valais,  to  act  as  a  southern  bulwark  to  the  Swiss 
Confederation,  was  made  manifest.  It  was  not  until  almost 
four  hundred  years  later  that  this  relationship  was  established 
on  a  still  firmer  basis,  when  the  Valais  became,  in  reality,  a 
member  of  the  Confederation. 

But,  like  Appenzell,  St.  Gallen,  and  the  Valais,  ancient 
Raetia  in  the  fourteenth  century  began  to  feel  this  same  spirit 
of  popular  liberty  which  had  gone  abroad.  A  transformation 
was  slowly  preparing  itself  in  that  highland  region,  which,  cut 
into  many  valleys  by  intersecting  ranges,  seemed  predestined 
to  local  self-government  or  to  the  rule  of  independent  lordlings. 

The  history  of  Graubiinden  is  a  reproduction  in  miniature  of 
that  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  as  a  whole.  After  passing 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Teutonic  invasion,  Rastia 
emerged  into  the  feudal  system,  and  took  on  that  appearance 
of  a  mass  of  administrative  fragments  which  characterized  the 
other  parts  of  Switzerland.  There  were  the  same  ecclesiasti- 
cal and  secular  rulers,  the  same  groups  of  isolated  freemen, 
and  there  resulted  the  same  conflict  of  interests,  and  the 
same  final  victory  of  the  people  over  their  masters. 

At  the  end  of  the  I4th  and  beginning  of  the  I5th  centu- 
ries, three  well-defined  centres  of  government  made  their 
appearance ;  three  separate  leagues,  which  were  known  by  the 
somewhat  extraordinary  titles  of  "The  League  of  the  House  of 
God",  "The  Upper"  or  "Grey  League",  and  "The  League 
of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions  ". 

In  1367,  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral  at  Chur  with  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Bishop  in  the  Valleys  of  Bergell,  Oberhalbstein, 
the  Engadin  and  Domleschg,  and  the  burghers  of  Chur  itself, 
concluded  an  alliance  against  the  Bishop  of  Chur,  the  most 
powerful  ruler  of  the  whole  country,  because  he  threatened  to 
compromise  their  interest,  in  an  alliance  which  he  had  made 
with  the  Duke  of  Austria.  This  is  the  foundation  of  the  so- 
called  "League  of  the  House  of  God",  and  here,  also,  as  else- 
where in  Switzerland,  Austria  was  instrumental  in  forcing  the 
people  to  build  up  free  states.  While  this  league  was  formed 


THE    VALAIS  AND    GRAUBUNDEN.  207 

almost  entirely  by  subjects,  i.  e.  by  ecclesiastical  serfs,  the  Up- 
per, or  Grey  League,  was  the  result  of  the  combined  action  of 
serfs,  freemen,  and  nobles.  In*  1395,  the  Abbot  of  Dissentis, 
the  Lords  of  Raziins  and  of  Sax,  with  their  subjects,  and  the 
communities  between  the  source  of  the  Rhine  and  the  forest 
of  Flims,  solemnly  agreed  to  protect  one  another  and  to  settle 
all  disputes  by  means  of  a  board  of  arbitration  of  three  men. 
It  was  a  union  of  elements  which  elsewhere  could  not  live  at 
peace  with  each  other,  and  was  evidently  the  result  of  a  mutual 
agreement  to  put  a  stop  to  the  endless  and  useless  quarrels 
which  had  devastated  the  upper  Rhine  Valley.  The  League 
of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions  arose  from  the  fact  that  certain  com- 
munities, at  the  extinction  of  the  house  of  Toggenburg,  of 
which  they  formed  a  feudal  dependence,  suddenly  found  them- 
selves without  an  overlord,  and  consequently  determined  to 
govern  themselves.  In  1436,  their  representatives  united  in  a 
league  which  was  purely  democratic,  inasmuch  as  no  ecclesi- 
astical or  secular  nobles  at  all  were  to  be  found  amongst 
the  contracting  parties  —  a  league,  therefore,  which  more 
nearly  resembled  that  of  the  Forest  States  than  the  others  in 
Rsetia. 

The  first  connection  with  any  member  of  the  Swiss  Confed- 
eration occurred  in  1400,  when  the  Grey  League  entered  into 
a  perpetual  pact  with  the  community  of  Glarus.  Moreover  the 
three  Raetian  leagues  eventually  found  it  to  their  mutual  advan- 
tage to  draw  closer  to  one  another  in  order  to  form  a  federal 
state,  somewhat  after  the  pattern  of  the  Swiss  Confederation 
of  Eight  States.  Although  the  exact  date  of  this  final  union  is 
not  known  with  precision,  it  probably  antedated  1450,  and  the 
meeting-place  was  Vazerol. 

or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  VAL  LEVENTINA  AND  AARGAU. 

IT  may  almost  be  called  an  historical  law  that  northern  races, 
especially  those  inhabiting  mountainous  and  barren 
regions,  continually  tend  to  encroach  upon  their  southern 
neighbors  on  more  productive  soil.  Anyone  who  has  stood  on 
some  point  of  the  great  range  which  separates  Switzerland 
from  Italy,  and,  on  a  clear  day,  has  seen  the  vineyards,  the 
olive  trees,  and  the  rich  plains  of  Lombardy  spread  out  before 
him,  can  imagine  the  longing  of  the  men  of  the  rugged  Forest 
States  to  possess  that  land  of  promise,  or  at  least  the  slopes 
which  led  toward  it. 

Uri  was  the  first  to  make  any  effort  toward  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  end.  The  possession  of  the  St.  Gothard  pass 
was,  in  reality,  a  commercial  necessity.  An  agreement  was 
therefore  made  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  Urseren, 
which  secured  the  freedom  of  that  pass.  The  territory  now 
comprised  by  the  Canton  of  Ticino,  the  Val  Leventina  (Ger- 
man, Livinen),  belonged  to  the  Dukes  of  Milan.  In  1331, 
the  three  Forest  States  and  Zurich  found  it  necessary  to  pun- 
ish the  inhabitants  of  that  district  for  interfering  with  the 
free  use  of  the  St.  Gothard  as  a  trade  route.  In  1403,  how- 
ever, Uri  and  Obwalden,  incensed  because  some  of  their  cattle- 
dealers  had  been  unjustly  treated  by  the  authorities  of  Varese, 
invaded  the  Val  Leventina,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the  fact 
that  the  ruling  Duke  of  Milan  was  temporarily  involved  in  dif- 
ficulties at  home,  forced  the  inhabitants  to  swear  fealty  to 
them.  Uri  and  Obwalden  simply  substituted  their  own  rule 
for  that  of  the  Duke  of  Milan,  collected  taxes,  and  sent  gov- 

208 


CONQ  UEST  OF  VAL  LE  VENTINA  AND  AAB  GA  U.    209 

ernors  to  keep  the  people  in  submission.  It  was  the  first 
example  in  Swiss  history  of  a  conquered  province  being  openly 
annexed.  There  was  no  pretence  of  a  league,  of  mutual 
advantages,  or  of  equal  rights.  The  people  of  the  Val  Leven- 
tina  merely  exchanged  one  master  for  another,  between  whom 
there  was,  in  point  of  fact,  little  to  choose. 

Successive  Dukes  of  Milan  attempted  to  recapture  Bellin- 
zona,  the  military  key  of  the  valley,  but  with  varying  success. 
The  Confederates  were  once  defeated  with  great  loss  at  the 
village  of  Arbedo,  in  1422,  and,  in  1426,  the  whole  of  their 
possessions  south  of  the  St.  Gothard  returned  into  the  power 
of  the  Milanese.  Finally,  in  1440,  an  army  from  Uri  settled 
the  question  of  ownership  by  bringing  the  valley  once  more 
into  subjection.  Hereafter  the  Val  Leventina  continued  to  be 
connected  with  the  Swiss  Confederation  for  some  three  and  a 
half  centuries,  until,  in  modern  times,  it  was  admitted  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  other  Cantons. 

The  conquest  of  the  valley  of  Domo  d'Ossola  (German 
Eschentkafyi  which  was  carried  on  almost  simultaneously  with 
that  of  Leventina,  was  not  of  vital  importance  in  the  building 
up  of  the  Confederation,  as  the  territory  was  eventually  lost. 

The  same,  however,  cannot  be  said  of  the  conquest  of  the 
Aargau,  an  event  which  left  indelible  traces  upon  the  history 
and  political  organization  of  Switzerland,  and  deserves  to  be 
described  in  detail. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  political  organization  of  the  League 
of  Eight  States,  it  was  noticed  that  they  did  not  form  a 
well-rounded,  compact  territory,  that  alien  tracts  of  land, 
here  and  there,  entered  like  wedges  into  their  midst.  This 
was  particularly  the  case  on  the  northwestern  frontier, 
where  the  Austrian  district  of  the  Aargau  presented  a  con- 
tinual menace.  To  annex  these  lands,  therefore,  became  a 
sort  of  cherished  ambition  amongst  the  Confederates.  The 
Aargau  also  contained  the  ancestral  castle  of  Habsburg;  at 
Baden,  the  principal  stronghold  of  the  district,  successive 
Dukes  had  collected  their  troops  for  the  battles  of  Morgar- 


210  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

ten  and  Sempach  and  for  their  attacks  upon  Zurich;  and  it 
was  upon  this  hostile  ground  that  the  native  nobility  con- 
spired on  every  occasion  against  the  Confederates.  Nothing, 
it  was  felt,  could  so  effectually  destroy  the  influence  of  Austria 
in  the  region  south  of  the  Rhine  as  the  loss  of  the  Aargau. 

For  the  present,  there  seemed  to  be  no  opportunity  of 
initiating  so  bold  an  undertaking,  and,  in  1412,  the  Confed- 
erates renewed  their  policy  of  friendship  by  signing  articles 
of  peace  with  Austria,  which  were  to  last  for  fifty  years, 
until  1463.  It  must  be  said  to  the  credit  of  the  Swiss  that 
the  temptation  to  break  this  formal  engagement  came  from 
the  very  highest  secular  and  ecclesiastical  authority  in 
Europe,  from  no  less  a  person  than  the  emperor  himself  and 
from  the  hierarchy  of  Christendom,  assembled  at  the  church- 
council  of  Constance,  from  1414-1418.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  one  of  the  objects  for  which  that  council  was 
convened,  was  to  settle  the  conflicting  claims  of  three 
Popes,  and  that  Pope  John  XXIII.,  who  was  on  the  point 
of  being  deposed,  managed  to  escape  from  Constance  with 
the  help  of  Frederic,  Duke  of  Austria.  This  was  the  sig- 
nal for  Sigismund,  the  emperor,  who  was  also  Frederic's  bit- 
ter enemy,  to  put  the  latter  under  the  ban  of  the  empire, 
to  declare  his  possessions  confiscated,  and  to  call  upon  his 
imperial  subjects  to  rise  and  seize  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Empire.  An  exhortation  to  invade  the  Aargau  was 
despatched  also  to  the  Swiss  Confederates,  as  immediate 
dependants  upon  the  Empire.  In  view  of  their  fifty  years 
truce  with  Austria,  they  did  not  at  once  comply  with  the 
royal  request.  While  Austria's  possessions  in  Swabia  and 
the  Tyrol  were  being  fast  brought  into  subjection  to  Ger- 
man conquerors,  the  Swiss  hesitated  to  break  their  word, 
even  to  their  arch-enemy.  It  took  all  the  persuasive  pow 
ers  of  Sigismund,  coupled  with  his  authoritative  command,  as 
head  of  the  realm,  to  induce  them,  one  by  one,  to  appear  in 
the  field.  He  represented  to  them  that  their  duty  to  the 
empire  came  before  any  pledges  given  to  other  powers ;  he 


CONQ VEST  OF  VAL  LEVENTINA  AND  AARGA  U.    211 

bribed  them  by  declaring  null  and  void  all  remnants  of 
power  which  the  house  of  Habsburg  might  still  possess  on 
Swiss  soil,  and  by  promising  that  they  could  keep  whatever 
they  could  take  by  force  of  arms  in  the  coming  conflict. 

Thereupon  the  invasion  of  the  Aargau  began.  Bern  opened 
the  campaign,  then  came  Luzern  and  Zurich.  Finally  the 
troops  of  all  the  Confederates  met  before  the  stronghold  of 
Baden,  which  resisted  their  combined  attack  for  a  fortnight. 
They  were  gathering  for  a  last  decisive  effort  against  the  cita- 
del, the  so-called  Stein,  which  is  now  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque ruins  of  Switzerland,  when  an  admonition  reached  them 
from  Sigismund  to  suspend  their  operations.  It  appears  that 
Duke  Frederic,  rendered  desperate  by  his  misfortunes,  had, 
in  the  meantime,  submitted  to  the  King.  A  reconciliation 
between  the  two  rivals  had  been  brought  about,  and  an  order 
issued  to  stop  hostilities  against  Austria.  But  the  lust  of  con- 
quest, which  the  King's  appeal  to  arms  had  conjured  up, 
could  not  be  allayed  so  quickly,  nor  could  the  Confederates 
resist  the  temptation  of  putting  an  end,  once  for  all,  to  Aus- 
trian dominion  in  the  Aargau.  They  disobeyed  the  royal 
command ;  and  the  messengers  who  came  to  Baden,  bearing 
a  second  peremptory  injunction  from  the  King,  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  arriving  just  in  time  to  see  the  Stein  surrender  to  the 
Confederates.  Sigismund  threatened  them  all  with  his  royal 
wrath,  and  declared  that  they  had  forfeited  their  right  to 
retain  the  Aargau.  The  upshot  of  the  quarrel  was  that,  in 
1415,  a  division  of  the  conquered  territory  took  place  amongst 
the  Confederates,  but  that  they  were  obliged  to  pay  hand- 
somely in  good  round  sums  of  money  for  their  new  acquisi- 
tions. The  lion's  share  fell  to  Bern,  which  had  been  the  first 
in  the  field.  Zurich  and  Luzern  each  acquired  small  districts 
for  themselves,  and  the  rest  became  common  Confederate 
property,  to  be  administered  conjointly  by  all ;  Uri  alone  refus- 
ing to  take  part,  either  on  moral  grounds,  or,  more  probably, 
because  it  shrank  from  the  responsibility  of  governing  a 
province  so  far  removed  from  its  own  frontiers. 


212  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

It  is  evident  that  the  system  of  joint  property,  of  which 
this  is  the  first  example  in  Swiss  history,  was  fraught  with 
unknown  dangers,  and  opened  up  a  series  of  new  problems  for 
the  Confederates.  Looking  back  from  our  own  day  upon  this 
experiment,  we  can  declare  that  it  was  ethically  wrong,  as 
being  opposed  to  the  natural  rights  of  man,  and  opposed  also 
to  the  democratic  traditions  of  the  early  Confederates.  We 
can  only  regret  that  the  Aargau  did  not  first  free  itself  from 
the  Austrian  dominion,  and  then,  of  its  own  free  will,  seek 
admission  within  the  Confederation  upon  an  equal  footing 
with  the  other  states.  Unfortunately  these  moral  considera- 
tions are  out  of  place  when  treating  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
We  must  remember  that  the  humanitarian  aspect  of  these 
questions  was  unknown  to  the  men  of  that  time,  being  purely 
a  modern  product,  so  that  it  would  be  unfair  to  judge  fifteenth- 
century  men  by  nineteenth-century  standards  of  national  ethics. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    FIRST    CIVIL    WAR. 

JUST  as  the  Confederation  was  becoming  more  compact  in 
point  of  territory,  and  hence  more  secure  from  foreign 
interference,  the  latent  antagonism  which  existed  between  the 
cities  and  the  rural  districts  suddenly  led  to  open  hostilities. 
The  former  embodied  the  principle  of  urban  aristocracy,  the 
latter,  of  agrarian  democracy.  Their  estrangement  was  inten- 
sified by  commercial  jealousy,  by  the  practice  of  excluding 
each  other's  trade  products,  upon  the  strange  medieval  idea 
that  imports  were  injurious.  Markets  and  trade  routes  were 
arbitrarily  established  or  abolished,  so  that  each  state  felt  con- 
strained to  make  conquests  in  order  to  gain  trade,  for  commer- 
cial restrictions  are,  in  their  last  analysis,  acts  of  war.  Mutual 
hatred  had  been  especially  accentuated  by  the  conquest  of  the 
Aargau,  which  so  materially  increased  the  power  of  the  cities. 
The  result  was  an  open  feud,  and  it  took  the  form  of  bitter 
hostility  between  Zurich  and  Schwiz.  The  centre  of  gravity 
of  the  Confederation  had  shifted  from  the  country  districts  to 
the  cities,  and  it  was  an  attempt  to  alter  this  state  of  things 
which  produced  the  so-called  Old  Zurich  war.  While  the 
remote  cause  was  this  rivalry  of  the  two  parties,  the  immediate 
occasion  of  the  war  was  the  death  of  Frederic  VII.,  Count  of 
Toggenburg.  He  died  childless  and  intestate,  leaving  his  vast 
possessions  to  be  scrambled  for  by  a  host  of  eager  claimants. 
During  his  lifetime  he  had  entered  into  a  number  of  agree- 
ments with  both  Zurich  and  Schwiz.  They  had  long  cast 
longing  glances  upon  his  territory,  as  affording  the  only  means 
of  expansion  which  now  remained  to  them.  In  this  struggle 

213 


214  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

for  the  possession  of  Toggenburg  the  long-pent-up  hatred  of 
the  two  rivals  at  length  found  vent.  Schwiz  seized  a  part  of 
the  contested  estates,  and  the  Biirgermeister  of  Zurich  per- 
suaded the  widow  of  the  late  Count,  who  claimed  to  be  the 
legal  executrix,  to  entrust  another  portion  to  his  city.  With 
the  help  of  Glarus,  Schwiz  proceeded  to  bring  more  territory 
under  her  sway,  and  thus  called  forth  expostulations  from  jeal- 
ous Zurich. 

As  all  remonstrances  proved  futile,  Zurich  then  took  a 
measure  to  which  she  had  a  legal  right  in  her  capacity  as  an 
imperial  city.  She  closed  her  markets  to  Schwiz  and  Glarus, 
and  instituted  a  veritable  blockade  against  them.  Great  want 
ensued  in  the  districts  which  were  thus  cut  off  from  supplies, 
but,  as  is  always  the  result  of  such  restrictive  or  protective 
measures,  Zurich  herself,  felt  the  blow  almost  as  severely. 
Instead  of  bringing  about  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  the 
blockade  simply  embittered  the  rivals,  and  made  a  violent  out- 
break of  some  sort  more  certain. 

Disappointed  by  this  failure,  Zurich  cast  about  for  some  new 
weapon  to  forge  against  Schwiz  and  the  other  Confederates, 
who  had  now  declared  for  Schwiz.  She  appealed  to  the 
emperor  for  intervention.  Unfortunately  the  House  of  Habs- 
burg  was  then  upon  the  throne,  and  the  person  to  whom 
Zurich  appealed  against  the  Confederates  was  Frederic  III., 
of  Austria.  When  we  consider  the^part  which  Habsburg- Aus- 
tria had  played  in  the  history  of  the  Confederation,  we  can 
understand  that  the  Confederates  looked  upon  this  act  of 
Zurich  as  a  veritable  outrage  against  themselves,  as  a  piece  of 
treachery  without  name.  The  country  was  filled  with  horror 
at  the  conduct  of  the  old  ally.  Both  sides  found  expression 
for  their  feelings  in  popular  songs,  in  which  they  derided, 
taunted  and  challenged  each  other  in  the  rudest  fashion. 

In  1442,  Zurich  concluded  a  league  with  the  Emperor,  in 
which  the  city  promised,  in  return  for  his  help,  to  support  his 
pretentions  over  the  Aargau.  At  the  same  time,  Frederic 
refused  to  confirm  the  charters  of  the  other  Confederates,  as 


THE  FIRST   CIVIL    WAR.  215 

was  customary  upon  the  accession  of  every  new  sovereign, 
but  came  to  Zurich  in  person  to  testify  his  friendship.  The 
Habsburg  symbol,  the  peacock  feather,  was  substituted  in  the 
streets  of  Zurich  for  the  white  cross,  which  had  generally 
become  the  sign  of  the  Confederation. 

In  1443,  the  Confederates  declared  war  against  the  mon- 
strous combination  of  Austria-Zurich.  At  first  there  were  short 
skirmishes  in  which  the  Confederates  were  victorious.  An 
important  battle  was  finally  fought  before  the  gates  of  the 
city,  at  a  chapel  of  St.  Jacob,  near  the  little  stream  of  the  Sihl. 
The  Confederates  advanced  upon  Zurich  from  the  direction 
of  Zug,  and  as  they  came  out  upon  the  height  above  the  town, 
they  suddenly  beheld  the  whole  district  spread  out  below  them 
like  a  map.  It  was  determined  to  cut  off  by  a  flank  move- 
ment the  hostile  army  which  had  ventured  far  out  beyond  the 
walls  into  a  great  field.  The  plan  succeeded  admirably. 
Caught  in  a  trap,  the  townsmen  and  their  Austrian  allies 
fought  desperately,  but  were  hopelessly  defeated  and  thrown 
back  upon  Zurich.  A  last  stand  was  made  at  the  bridge 
over  the  Sihl,  where  Rudolf  Stiissi,  the  Burgermeister,  per- 
ished in  a  vain  attempt  to  stem  the  tide  of  the  advancing  Con- 
federates. This  victory  was  followed  by  a  short  truce,  known 
as  the  Bad  Peace  (Fauler  Friede),  because  it  was  not  kept  by 
either  party.  The  Confederates  upon  one  occasion  stormed  a 
stronghold  in  Zurich  territory,  the  Greifensee,  and  put  the 
whole  garrison  to  the  sword  in  the  most  treacherous  and  inhu- 
man manner.  Finally  a  regular  siege  was  laid  to  Zurich  itself, 
the  Confederates  being  determined  to  bring  this  wearisome  and, 
heretofore  indecisive,  war  to  a  close.  The  city  was  strongly 
fortified  and  ably  defended,  so  that  no  definite  result  was 
obtained,  but  the  Austrian  party  bethought  them  of  a  means 
by  which  the  Confederate  force  might  be  diverted  elsewhere, 
and  perhaps  the  whole  Confederation  eventually  brought  into 
subjection  to  Austria.  Frederic  III.,  applied  to  Charles  VIL, 
of  France,  for  the  loan  of  5000  mercenaries.  A  truce  of  eight- 
een months  had  just  been  declared  between  France  and  Eng- 


216  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

land.  It  was  in  the  year  1444,  and  Charles  was  delighted  to 
find  an  opportunity  of  getting  rid  of  the  military  vagabonds, 
who,  in  time  of  peace,  were  a  veritable  plague  in  the  land. 
Instead  of  the  number  demanded,  he  sent  30,000  Armagnacs, 
so-called  after  their  original  leader,  Bernard,  Count  of  Armag- 
nac,  placing  them  under  the  command  of  his  son,  the  Dau- 
phin, who  was  later  Louis  XL 

The  main  force  of  the  Confederates  lay  before  the  castle  of 
Farnsburg,  near  Basel,  besieging  Thomas  of  Falkenstein, 
one  of  the  Austrian  leaders,  when  rumors  of  an  approach- 
ing host  came  to  their  ears.  The  Armagnacs,  called  by  the 
people  Ecorcheurs  (German  Schinder),  i.  e.  robbers,  passed 
through  the  Franche  comte,  by  Monte"bliard  to  Basel,  sack- 
ing and  burning  the  peaceful  country  homes  which  lay  in 
their  path.  At  Farnsburg,  the  Confederates  held  a  council,  the 
result  of  which  was  that  a  small  force,  about  1300  in  all,  was 
despatched  to  reconnoitre,  but  with  particular  instructions  not 
to  be  enticed  into  a  pitched  battle.  A  Church  Council  was 
just  then  in  session  at  Basel.  In  fact,  the  most  reliable  infor- 
mation which  has  been  handed  down  concerning  the  resulting 
events  is  derived  almost  exclusively  from  prelates  and  noble- 
men who  were  there  in  attendance.  As  the  little  force  was 
advancing  upon  Basel,  they  met  two  Canons  of  Neuchatel  who 
warned  them  of  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but  in  vain,  for  one 
of  the  leaders  answered,  "Then  we  commend  our  souls  to  God 
and  our  bodies  to  the  Armagnacs."1 

At  the  village  of  Pratteln,  they  came  upon  the  out-posts  of 
the  enemy  who  retreated  before  them  to  Muttenz  where 
another  skirmish  took  place,  with  the  result  that  the  Armag- 
nacs, though  much  superior  in  numbers,  were  thrown  back 
across  the  little  stream  of  the  Birs.  At  the  water's  edge  the 
Confederates  stopped  to  consider  what  they  should  do.  Finally 
yielding  to  some  hot  heads  in  their  midst,  unmindful  of  the 
instructions  they  had  received,  and  in  sight  of  the  whole  host 
of  Armagnacs  drawn  up  in  battle-array,  they  crossed  the  Birs 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.     p.  143. 


THE  FIRST   CIVIL    WAR.  217 

and  threw  themselves,  with  lion-like  but  foolhardy  bravery,  upon 
the  astounded  horsemen.  They  fought  against  these  terrible 
odds  from  early  morning  until  noon,  when  they  were  constrained 
to  take  refuge  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Jacob  and  the  walled  garden 
which  surrounded  it.  Here  they  maintained  themselves  for 
hours,  repulsing  charge  after  charge  of  the  infuriated  enemy, 
until  hardly  a  man  was  left  to  carry  on  the  battle.  The  Armag- 
nacs  on  several  occasions  tried  to  stop  the  fight,  struck  dumb 
by  this  display  of  courage,  but  the  Austrian  leaders  who  were 
present  amongst  them,  urged  them  on  to  the  extermination  of 
the  hated  foe.  It  is  reported  that  only  200  Confederates  sur- 
vived the  battle,  and  that  even  they  were  all  wounded. 

Aeneas  Sylvius  Piccolomini,  later  famous  as  Pope  Pius  II., 
attended  the  Council  of  Basel.  He  describes  some  of  the 
feats  of  valor  performed  by  the  vanquished,  in  a  letter  to  a 
friend.  "The  Swiss,"  he  says,  "tore  the  bloody  arrows  from 
their  bodies,  and  threw  themselves  upon  the  enemy  even  after 
their  hands  had  been  cut  off,  not  breathing  their  last  until 
they  had  themselves  killed  their  murderers." 1  A  French 
nobleman,  Matthiew  de  Coucy,  was  assured  by  veteran  soldiers 
who  were  present,  "that  they,  in  their  day,  had  neither  seen 
nor  found  men  so  valiant  in  defence  nor  so  outrageously  fear- 
less in  sacrificing  their  lives."2  As  Jean  Chartier,  the  French 
historian,  naively  remarks,  "Thereupon  the  Dauphin,  seeing 
that  it  was  a  strange  and  amazing  country,  .  .  .  returned 
to  Nancy."  3  In  truth,  he  hurriedly  made  peace  with  the  Swiss, 
and  left  them  masters  of  the  situation. 

With  justice  has  this  terrific  battle  been  called  the  Ther- 
mopyilae  of  Switzerland,  for  there  was  the  same  disparity  in 
numbers,  the  same  heroism  in  defence,  and  the  same  virtual 
victory  in  defeat. 

In  1450,  Henry  of  Bubenberg,  the  Schultheiss  of  Bern,  was 
chosen  final  arbitrator  of  the  war  and  its  results.  He 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  146. 

2  Ibid.     p.  148. 
8  Ibid.     p.  148. 


218  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

delivered  his  judgment  at  Einsiedeln,  whither  all  the  Confed- 
erates had  been  summoned  to  send  delegates,  in  compliance 
with  the  Zurich  league  of  1351.  He  declared  the  alliance 
between  Zurich  and  Austria  to  be  null  and  void,  and  once 
more  brought  into  force  the  perpetual  league  which  bound 
Zurich  to  the  Confederation.  On  the  other  hand,  Zurich  was 
to  regain  the  territory  she  had  lost  during  the  war,  Schwiz 
retaining  only  a  few  unimportant  accessions  won  from  the 
Toggenburg  possessions. 

In  reality,  a  great  principle  had  been  at  stake  in  this  war, 
although  disguised  by  numerous  complications.  It  was  the 
question  of  Federalism  versus  States-rights,  of  centralization 
against  localism,  a  struggle  which  really  never  ceases  in  any 
federated  state.  The  national  idea,  though  imperfect  and 
crudely  apprehended,  had  come  off  victorious  against  the  sepa- 
ratist ambitions  of  Zurich ;  and  the  evil  machinations  of  the 
arch-enemy,  Austria,  had  once  more  come  to  naught. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  WAR  WITH  CHARLES,  THE  BOLD,  OF  BURGUNDY. 

THE  Confederates  emerged  from  the  experience  of  the  Old 
Zurich  war  more  united  at  home  and  more  formidable 
abroad.  It  was  a  time  of  new  departure  in  their  national  life; 
for  they  had  now  embarked  upon  the  sea  of  international  poli- 
tics, a  distinct  power,  a  new  force  in  Europe,  no  longer  negli- 
geable.  The  battle  of  St.  Jacob  an  der  Birs  was  reported  far 
and  wide,  calling  attention  to  their  extraordinary  military 
prowess. 

Mr.  John  Foster  Kirk,  in  his  "History  of  Charles,  the  Bold, 
Duke  of  Burgundy,"  thus  aptly  describes  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion of  the  middle  of  the  i$th  century:  "It  constituted,  not 
indeed  a  nation,  but  a  unique  and  terrible  power,  exultant  in 
its  indomitable  strength,  and  defiant  of  the  storms  that  were 
sweeping  around  it,  convulsing  and  dislocating  all  the  adjoin- 
ing lands."1  Strong  and  weak  were  irresistibly  attracted,  the 
former  to  secure  the  military  co-operation  of  the  Confederates, 
the  latter  to  seek  their  protection.  Hence  it  happened  that 
the  next  few  years  witnessed  a  number  of  new  alliances  or  the 
confirmation  of  old  ones. 

In  1450,  Glarus  was  finally  admitted  on  an  equal  footing 
with  the  other  states.  In  1451,  St.  Gallen,  the  Abbey,  drew 
nearer;  in  1452,  the  community  of  Appenzell  followed  suit, 
and  in  1454,  St.  Gallen,  the  Town.  About  this  time,  even  the 
German  imperial  cities  of  Schaffhausen  and  Miilhausen  sought 
the  friendship  of  the  Confederates.  In  1452,  a  treaty  was 
concluded  with  France,  to  be  renewed  in  1463.  The  relations 

1  Kirk,  J.  F.     History  of  Charles, the  Bold.     vol.  II.,  p.  282. 

219 


220  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

with  the  powerful  duchies  of  Milan  on  the  South  and  Bur- 
gundy on  the  West  were  satisfactorily  regulated. 

How  was  it,  then,  that  a  few  years  later  the  Swiss  found 
themselves  contending  in  a  struggle  for  life  and  death  against 
this  last  power ;  departing  apparently  so  far  from  the  national 
aspirations  they  had  marked  out  for  themselves,  as  to  engage 
in  a  policy  of  foreign  adventur-e,  and  to  be  caught  in  the 
meshes  of  general  European  diplomacy  ? 

In  truth,  the  causes  of  the  great  duel  between  Charles,  the 
Bold,  of  Burgundy  and  the  Swiss  Confederates  have  proved 
more  or  less  of  a  bone  of  contention  amongst  historical  schol- 
ars. Two  points,  however,  in  the  controversy  may  be  accepted 
as  well  established.  The  Swiss  themselves  were  the  aggres- 
sors, contrary  to  common  opinion,  and  they  were  also  undoubt- 
edly entrapped  into  the  war  by  designing  neighbors.  Charles 
himself  never  set  foot  on  what  was  then  Swiss  soil,  while  the 
Swiss  went  to  meet  him  in  full  reliance  on  help  from  allies  who 
never  came.  They  entered  into  the  contest  as  auxiliaries,  only 
to  find  themselves  principals.  They  were  tricked  into  an  atti- 
tude of  hostility  to  Charles,  and  the  brunt  of  war  shifted  upon 
their  shoulders,  so  that,  in  the  end,  it  would  seem  as  though  the 
combatants  themselves  had  least  to  do  with  producing  the  war, 
and  were  the  least  culpable  of  its  bloodshed. 

Indeed,  this  seemingly  unlikely  encounter  was  brought  about 
by  a  set  of  strangely  complicated  circumstances. 

There  was  first  the  desire  of  Charles,  the  Bold,  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  to  found  a  great  middle-state  between  Germany  and 
France,  and  to  revive  the  glories  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of 
Burgundy.  The  late  Mr.  Freeman,  in  his  essay  on  "  Charles 
the  Bold,"  has  pointed  out  this  peculiar  aspect  of  the  question. 
"From  the  ninth  century  to  the  nineteenth,"  he  writes,  "the 
politics  of  Europe  have  largely  gathered  round  the  rivalry 
between  the  Eastern  and  the  Western  kingdoms  —  in  modern 
language,  between  Germany  and  France.  From  the  ninth  to 
the  nineteenth,  a  succession  of  efforts  have  been  made  to 
establish,  in  one  shape  or  another,  a  middle-state  between  the 


THE   WAR    WITH   CHARLES   THE  BOLD.         221 

two"  .  .  .  "That  object  was  never  more  distinctly  aimed 
at,  and  it  never  seemed  nearer  to  its  accomplishment,  than 
when  Charles,  the  Bold,  actually  reigned  from  the  Zuyder  Zee 
to  the  lake  of  Neuchatel,  and  was  not  without  hopes  of  extend- 
ing his  frontier  to  the  Gulf  of  Lyons."1 

Then  there  was  the  anxiety  of  Louis  XL,  king  of  France,  to 
prevent  this  extension  of  power,  which  could  only  be  brought 
about  at  his  expense.  All  the  resources  of  his  singularly 
shrewd  character  were  enlisted  in  order  to  keep  Charles  in  a 
state  of  vassalage.  Indeed,  one  cannot  appreciate  the  full 
import  of  the  impending  contest  without  constantly  bearing  in 
mind,  that  it  was  but  one  phase  of  the  more  general  con- 
flict which  was  being  waged  everywhere  in  Europe  between 
sovereigns  and  their  vassals,  between  the  principles  of  central- 
ization and  decentralization  in  things  political.  In  point  of 
fact,  the  antagonism  between  Louis  and  Charles  was  of  the 
same  kind  as  that  which  had  manifested  itself  in  a  somewhat 
different  manner  between  the  central  authority  of  the  Confed- 
eration and  the  separate  states  in  the  Old  Zurich  war. 

The  Swiss  were  brought  into  touch  with  this  diplomatic 
game  through  their  relations  with  King  Louis  XL,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  with  Duke  Sigmund,  of  Austria,  and  Duke  Charles, 
of  Burgundy,  on  the  other.  Since  1463,  they  were  bound  to 
France  by  close  and  friendly  ties.  The  king  showered  gold 
upon  their  public  men,  a  French  party  was  formed  within  the 
Confederation  itself,  led  by  Nicolas  von  Diessbach,  of  Bern, 
and  Jost  von  Silenen,  of  Aargau.  It  is  too  much  to  say,  how- 
ever, of  the  Burgundian  war,  as  Mr.  Kirk  does  in  his  work  men- 
tioned above,  "that  it  was  undertaken  at*lhe  instigation  of 
France,  for  the  interest  of  France,  and  in  the  pay  of  France."2 
Certain  peculiar  complications  with  Duke  Sigmund,  of  Austria, 
also  threw  the  Swiss  unwittingly  into  a  hostile  attitude  toward 
Burgundy. 

As  yet  nothing  had  intervened  to  put  a  stop  to  the  heredi- 

1  Freeman,  E.  A.  Historical  Essays.     Vol.  I.  p.  336. 

2  Kirk,  J.  F.     History  of  Charles,  the  Bold.  Vol.  Ill  p.  9. 


222  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

tary  enmity  between  Austria  and  the  Confederation.  Follow- 
ing an  admonition  of  Pope  Pius  II.,  the  Swiss,  in  1460,  had 
invaded  the  Thurgau,  the  last  of  the  Austrian  possessions 
south  of  the  Rhine.  Like  the  Aargau,  this  new  territory  was 
administered  hereafter  conjointly  by  seven  states  as  a  com- 
mon bailiwick.  In  1468,  they  had  followed  up  their  success  by 
further  encroachments  upon  Austrian  dominions.  Their 
allies,  the  cities  of  Schaffhausen  and  Mulhausen,  complained 
of  being  hard  pressed  by  various  Austrian  partisans,  and  called 
for  help.  This  was  the  excuse  for  an  extended  expedition  into 
the  Black  Forest  and  Elsass,  where  no  one  ventured  to  offer 
serious  opposition.  On  their  way  back,  the  Swiss  laid  siege 
to  the  stronghold  of  Waldshut.  They  would  not  stir  until 
they  had  brought  Duke  Sigmund  to  agree  to  certain  specified 
terms,  which  are  worth  noting  with  great  care,  because  they 
acted  as  the  point  of  departure  for  the  whole  train  of  events 
which  led  to  the  war  of  Burgundy.  The  otherwise  inexplica- 
ble attitude  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  will  seem  less  faulty 
and  less  irrational. 

Duke  Sigmund  promised  to  pay  the  sum  of  10,000  florins 
within  one  year,  and  if  he  could  not  fulfil  his  engagement,  to 
cede  Waldshut  and  the  Black  Forest  to  the  Confederates. 
Being  unable  to  raise  this  sum  within  the  time  agreed  upon, 
he  tried  to  borrow  from  Louis  XL,  but,  receiving  a  negative 
answer,  turned  to  Charles,  the  Bold.  In  1469,  a  treaty  was 
concluded  between  the  two  Dukes,  at  St.  Omer;  Sigmund 
mortgaged  the  Black  Forest,  Waldshut,  and  Elsass  to  Charles, 
for  50,000  florins.  The  latter  was  to  satisfy  the  demands  of 
the  Swiss,  and,  if  possible,  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation 
between  them  and  Sigmund;  but,  if  the  Swiss  attacked 
Sigmund,  Charles  was  to  give  him  his  support. 

Austria's  offers  of  reconciliation  proving  too  heavily  encum- 
bered with  inadmissable  conditions,  the  Confederates  came  to 
look  upon  Charles  as  a  possible  enemy  in  any  hostilities  which 
might  result.  Then  came  the  further  fact  that  his  governor  in 
Elsass,  Knight  Peter  von  Hagenbach,  drew  upon  himself  the 


THE    WAR    WITH  CHARLES   THE  BOLD.         223 

hatred  of  the  native  population  by  his  tyrannous  conduct. 
The  Swiss  protested  to  Charles  against  von  Hagenbach's  treat- 
ment of  Miilhausen,  their  ally,  but  without  success. 

It  was  at  this  moment,  when  an  estrangement  between 
Charles  and  the  Swiss  had  begun  to  manifest  itself,  that 
Louis  XL,  of  France,  determined  to  extract  some  advantage 
for  himself.  He  sought  to  isolate  Charles  by  reconciling 
Sigmund  to  the  Swiss,  a  task  which  a  less  wily  diplomat 
might  certainly  have  considered  altogether  impossible,  but 
which  was,  in  point  of  fact,  accomplished  with  consummate 
tact,  and  fox-like  cunning.  The  treaty  of  St.  Omer  had  not 
proved  satisfactory  to  Sigmund ;  he  found  Charles  estab- 
lishing himself  firmly  in  Elsass,  and  his  lost  provinces 
seemed  further  than  ever  from  his  grasp,  as  the  time  slipped 
by,  and  he  was  still  unable  to  comply  with  the  conditions 
of  payment.  In  his  predicament,  Sigmund  turned  for  help 
to  Louis  XI.,  with  the  result  that  an  altogether  new  group- 
ing of  forces  was  effected;  for  the  French  King  persuaded 
Austria  and  the  Confederation  to  approach  one  another, 
and  to  draw  up  the  preliminaries  of  a  Perpetual  Peace 
(Ewige  Richtung),  which  was  to  be  formally  adopted,  two 
years  later,  in  1476. 

All  honor  to  the  monarch  for  thus  bringing  to  a  close 
this  seemingly  interminable  struggle !  It  had  been  waged 
intermittently  for  about  two  hundred  years,  so  that  it  had 
become  part  and  parcel  of  the  national  policies  of  the  two 
sides. 

To  have  reconciled  enemies,  heretofore,  with  reason,  con- 
sidered hopelessly  estranged,  was  no  mean  performance  — 
but  behind  this  apparently  disinterested  service  there  lay  a 
far-reaching  plan  which  aimed  not  at  the  welfare  of  the 
Confederates  but  at  the  aggrandizement  of  France.  It  will 
always  remain  a  much-vexed  question  just  how  far  Louis  XI. 
was  responsible  for  the  events  which  succeeded  this  pact  of 
friendship,  whether  he  directed  them,  or  was  himself  swept 
away  by  the  force  of  circumstances.  Certain  it  is  that 


224  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

while  he  worked  for  certain  ends,  a  series  of  events  was 
furthering  his  plans  in  the  most  remarkable  way.  Through 
the  influence  of  Nicholas  von  Diessbach  and  Jost  von 
Silenen  he  won  the  close  alliance  of  the  Swiss.  An  agree- 
ment was  made  that,  should  they  become  involved  in  war, 
notably  with  Burgundy,  they  might  count  upon  his  help; 
and,  as  an  expression  of  his  friendship,  he  was  to  give  the 
Eight  States,  with  their  allies,  Fribourg  and  Solothurn,  an 
annuity  of  2000  francs  each,  besides  20,000  francs  to  be 
distributed  equally  amongst  them.  In  return  for  this  they 
pledged  themselves  to  supply  the  French  King  with  mer- 
cenary troops  whenever  he  should  require  them. 

In  the  meantime,  Peter  von  Hagenbach's  rule  in  Elsass  had 
culminated  in  a  popular  revolt.  He  was  condemned  to  death 
in  a  trial  at  which  the  Swiss  participated,  and  finally  executed. 

In  1474,  a  declaration  of  war  was  sent  to  Duke  Charles  of 
Burgundy  by  Bern,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Confederation. 
The  magistrates  and  people  of  the  communities,  constituting 
the  "Great  Confederacy  of  Upper  Germany,"  as  the  Swiss 
Confederation  was  officially  styled,  proclaimed  themselves 
enemies  of  the  Burgundian  prince.  Soon  after,  an  expedition, 
composed  of  Swiss  and  Austrians  with  contingents  from 
Elsass,  invaded  Burgundy,  during  Charles'  absence  in  Ger- 
many, and  laid  seige  to  the  stronghold  of  Hericourt.  Louis 
XL,  watched  their  movements  with  pleasure,  and  was  full  of 
compliments  for  the  Swiss  when  they  defeated  the  Burgund- 
ians  and  took  Hericourt  after  a  stubborn  fight.  As  Charles 
did  not  immediately  return,  Bernese  troops  continued  to  make 
several  incursions  into  his  territory,  then  penetrated  into  the 
land  of  Vaud,  at  that  time  under  the  dominion  of  the  house  of 
Savoy,  and  advanced  as  far  as  Geneva,  which  city  was  forced 
to  pay  a  large  ransom  in  order  to  rid  itself  of  these  unwelcome 
guests. 

At  length,  Charles,  the  Bold,  returned  from  his  German 
expedition,  collected  his  troops  at  Nancy,  and  prepared  to 
march  upon  Bern  by  way  of  the  lake  of  Neuchatel.  On  the 


THE    WAR    WITH  CHARLES   THE  BOLD.         225 

igth  of  February,  1476,  he  stopped  to  lay  siege  to  the  little 
town  of  Grandson,  at  that  time  held  by  a  detachment  of  men 
from  Bern  and  Fribourg.  He  met  with  desperate  and  unex- 
pected resistance.  The  garrison  retired  to  the  castle,  where 
they  repulsed  his  repeated  assaults  with  so  much  success,  that 
he  felt  himself  wasting  precious  time  and  grew  daily  more 
impatient  to  advance  on  his  way  to  Neuchatel.  But  as  rein- 
forcements, now  long  expected,  failed  to  come  to  the  relief  of 
the  brave  garrison,  the  latter,  reduced  to  extremities,  discour- 
aged, and  no  longer  united,  finally  surrendered  to  the  Bur- 
gundians.  In  a  Chronicle  of  the  Canons  of  Neuchatel,  it  is 
said  that  a  certain  Knight  de  Rondchamps  tricked  them  into 
submission,  by  assuring  them  that  the  Duke  had  taken  the 
whole  country  round  about,  and  would  be  merciful  to  them  if 
they  surrendered.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that 
when  the  captives  were  led  before  Charles  he  ordered  them 
all,  to  the  number  of  four  hundred  and  twelve,  to  be  hanged 
or  drowned  in  the  lake,  an  act  of  atrocity  which  was  designed 
to  intimidate  the  Confederates,  but  in  reality  filled  them  with 
the  bitterness  of  revenge.  Panigarola,  the  ambassador  of  the 
Duke  of  Milan  in  Charles'  camp,  wrote  home :  "  It  is  a  hor- 
rible, a  fearful  sight,  that  of  so  many  dangling  corpses."1 

Now  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  ready  to  march  upon  Neu- 
chatel. His  army  has  been  computed  at  about  20,000  strong, 
horse  and  foot,  equipped  with  the  best  arms  of  the  age,  and 
especially  well  supplied  with  artillery.  The  camp  itself  was 
fitted  up  most  lavishly,  for  Charles  passed  for  the  richest  and 
most  extravagant  prince  of  his  day.  Like  the  Austrian  Dukes 
at  Morgarten  and  Sempach,  he  never  for  one  moment  doubted 
the  issue  of  the  battle,  in  his  over-confidence  even  neglecting 
to  take  the  proper  precautions  against  surprise. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Confederates  had  been  quietly  collect- 
ing their  contingents  at  Neuchatel.  There  had  been  great 
delays ;  they  had  not  arrived  in  time  to  relieve  Grandson,  but 
on  the  2d  of  March,  they  advanced,  somewhat  over  18,000 

1  Kirk,  J.  F.     History  of  Charles,  the  Bold.     Vol.  III.,  p.  316. 


226          THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

men  in  all,  a  well-armed,  well-trained  host,  under  experienced 
leaders,  to  meet  the  redoubtable  prince. 

In  order  to  understand  the  course  of  the  battle,  the  follow- 
ing topographical  details  must  be  noted.  The  Jura  mountains 
run  almost  parallel  with  the  shore  of  the  lake  of  Neuchatel 
throughout  its  length,  but  at  a  point  between  Neuchatel  and 
Grandson,  a  spur  of  the  range  approaches  so  close  to  the 
water's  edge  as  to  form  a  narrow  pass,  known  as  La  Lance 
Chartreuse.  The  possession  of  this  spur  and  this  passage  was 
of  prime  importance  to  both  armies,  and  it  was  here  that  they 
met  unexpectedly,  coming  from  opposite  directions. 

Instead  of  following  the  road  along  the  water's  edge,  the 
vanguard  of  the  Confederates  struck  up  over  the  spur  of  the 
mountain  into  an  old  Roman  road,  known  locally  as  the  via 
dttra,  driving  before  them  the  Burgundian  archers  who  had 
been  posted  there  to  dispute  their  passage.  As  they  rounded 
the  point  they  suddenly  beheld  the  whole  Burgundian  army 
spread  out  in  the  plain  below,  as  far  as  Grandson,  in  all  the 
pride  and  perfection  of  accoutrement,  just  preparing  to  march. 
It  was  the  intention  of  Charles  to  take  the  spur,  but  finding  it 
already  occupied  by  the  Swiss,  he  changed  his  plan  and  tried 
to  draw  the  enemy  down  into  the  plain,  where  he  could  sur- 
round them  with  his  superior  numbers. 

The  Swiss  vanguard  decided  not  to  wait  for  the  main  body 
which  was  on  the  march  behind  them,  but  promptly  formed 
into  a  square,  l>ristling  with  spears,  fell  on  their  knees  to  pray, 
amid  the  derisive  laughter  of  the  Burgundians,  and  as  soon  as 
they  rose,  the  battle  began.  At  first,  the  Burgundian  artillery 
brought  many  of  them  to  the  ground,  but  by  moving  a  little  to 
one  side  they  could  place  themselves  out  of  range.  Then 
Charles  sent  his  cavalry  upon  their  right  flank,  but  with  no 
success.  Finally  he  led  a  charge  himself  from  the  centre, 
only  to  find  the  Swiss  square  unshaken. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  the  Duke  bethought  him  of  a 
new  disposition  of  troops,  by  which  he  might  entice  the  Swiss 
vanguard  into  the  plain  and  annihilate  them,  for,  in  spite  of 


THE    WAR    WITH  CHARLES   THE  BOLD.         227 

their  brave  stand,  their  ranks  were  thinning  perceptibly.  He 
ordered  the  artillery  and  infantry  to  deploy  from  the  front  to 
the  flanks.  As  fortune  would  have  it,  the  long-expected  main 
body  of  the  Confederates  appeared  over  the  brow  of  the  spur, 
just  as  his  troops  were  effecting  this  change.  It  was  the  con- 
junction of  these  two  movements  which  decided  the  issue  of 
the  battle,  for  the  rear  of  the  Burgundian  army,  seeing  the 
simultaneous  withdrawal  of  their  own  artillery  and  infantry 
with  the  jubilant  advance  of  the  Swiss  down  the  hillside, 
became  panic-stricken  and  fled,  shouting,  "  Sauve  qui  pent" 

Etterlin  describes  this  scene  in  his  "Kronica  der  Loblichen 
Eydtgnoschaft "  :  "  Now,  when  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  saw  the 
hosts  descending  the  mountains,  the  sun  just  shone  upon  them, 
and  they  glittered  like  a  mirror ;  at  the  same  time  the  horn  of 
Uri  bellowed,  and  the  war  horns  of  Luzern,  and  there  was  such 
a  roar  that  the  Duke's  men  shuddered  at  it  and  retreated."1 
Charles  himself,  exasperated  beyond  measure  by  the  stupid 
cowardice  of  his  troops,  rode  amongst  them  with  drawn  sword, 
striking  them  furiously,  in  the  vain  effort  to  bring  them  to  a 
standstill.  But  his  army  had  passed  entirely  beyond  his  con- 
trol ;  it  fled,  without  looking  back,  helter-skelter,  leaving 
everything  in  the  camp  in  hopeless  disarray,  and  back  to 
Burgundy. 

When  the  Confederates  arrived  before  the  castle  of  Grand- 
son, they  were  horrified  at  the  sight  of  their  comrades  hanging, 
"still  fresh,  from  the  trees."  "There  hang  father  and  son 
together,"  writes  Etterlin  ;  "there  two  brothers  or  some  friend 
or  other;  and  the  good  men  who  knew  them,  their  friends, 
cousins,  and  brothers,  found  them  there,  hanging  so  pitifully." 

But  in  the  camp  another  and  very  different  reward  awaited 
the  Confederates.  A  greater  part  of  the  wealth  in  arms  and 
apparel,  in  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones,  which  Charles, 
the  Bold,  carried  about  with  him,  lay  open  to  pillage.  It  has 
been  calculated  that  more  than  a  million  florins'  worth  of  spoils 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Swiss.  Diebold  Schilling,  a  Bernese 

JOchsli,  W.    Quellenbuch,  p.  174. 


228          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS   REPUBLIC. 

chronicler,  in  1484,  drew  up  a  more  or  less  accurate  list  of  the 
booty  taken  at  Grandson.  He  enumerates  amongst  other  art- 
icles :  420  pieces  of  artillery  with  much  powder,  many  silken 
banners,  costly  garments,  silken  tents  and  great  stores  of  mer- 
chandise and  provisions;  precious  stones  of  such  value  that  no 
man  could  properly  estimate  them,  notably  three  great  dia- 
monds, whose  subsequent  adventures  read  like  romances.  One 
now  adorns  the  papal  tiara,  another  is  said  to  be  in  the  treas- 
ury of  Vienna,  and  the  third  to  have  been  until  lately  amongst 
the  crown  jewels  of  France.  Schilling  is  very  careful  in  his 
description  of  a  wonderful  golden  casket,  containing  holy 
relics,  pieces  of  the  true  cross  and  the  crown  of  thorns.  A 
comical  aspect  is  lent  to  this  wholesale  plunder  by  the  fact 
that,  for  sometime  after  the  battle,  silken  clothes  and  doublets 
and  other  precious  articles  were  worn  as  commonly  throughout 
the  Confederation  as  ordinary  cloth  had  been  before.  But  the 
after  effects  of  this  sudden  wealth  were  more  serious  in  other 
respects,  for  there  was  engendered  a  whole  train  of  corrup- 
tions, a  taste  for  plunder,  a  feeling  of  envy,  and,  in  general,  a 
departure  from  the  simple  habits  of  the  olden  time. 

The  loss  of  life  was  not  very  great  in  the  battle  of  Grand- 
son, for  the  Burgundians  hardly  fought  at  all,  while  the  con- 
querors had  no  cavalry  to  complete  the  pursuit.  On  the 
whole,  therefore,  the  Swiss  victory  was  more  of  a  moral  than 
a  material  one.  It  was  evident  that  Charles  would  soon  be  in 
position  to  renew  the  struggle,  his  forces  being  only  scattered 
and  not  annihilated.  Full  of  exultation  and  of  confidence  in  the 
future,  the  Confederates  disbanded  and  returned  to  their  homes. 

As  soon  as  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  had  recovered  sufficiently 
from  the  stupefaction  into  which  this  unexpected  defeat  had 
plunged  him,  he  swore  revenge  against  the  impudent  peasants 
who  had  brought  such  shame  upon  him.  This  time  again 
Bern  was  made  the  objective  point,  but  he  determined  to  reach 
that  city  by  the  way  of  Murten  (Morat),  a  walled  town  on  the 
lake  of  the  same  name,  which  was  defended  at  the  time  by  a 
Bernese  garrison,  under  Adrian  von  Bubenberg. 


THE    WAR    WITH   CHARLES   THE  BOLD.         229 

There  was  considerable  difficulty  in  getting  the  Confederate 
army  together,  and  in  the  meantime,  Charles  settled  down 
before  Murten  with  a  force  of  about  25,00x3  men,  determined 
not  to  move  until  he  had  reduced  the  stronghold.  The  siege 
began  on  the  Qth  of  June,  1476.  It  was  carried  on  with  great 
vigor ;  assault  followed  assault  in  quick  succession ;  great  siege- 
guns  were  trained  against  the  wall ;  a  part  of  the  town  wall 
and  adjacent  houses  were  shot  down;  and  Charles  counted 
upon  taking  the  place  in  a  few  days.  But  Bubenburg  dis- 
played great  courage  and  skill  in  the  defence.  With  the  help 
of  some  artillery  pieces,  sent  from  Strassburg,  and  carefully 
constructed  intrenchments,  he  repulsed  all  the  .charges  of  the 
enemy.  Still  his  position  was,  at  the  best,  very  critical,  and  he 
looked  with  growing  impatience  for  the  arrival  of  the  Confeder- 
ate army. 

The  peril  was  great,  for,  should  Murten  yield,  Bern  was 
exposed  to  almost  certain  capture.  In  this  extremity,  the 
Bernese  council  sent  a  missive  to  the  Confederates,  urging 
them  to  make  haste.  "Dearest  friends  and  brothers,"  runs 
the  letter,  "were  the  need  not  so  great,  we  should  be  loath 
to  use  such  pressing  and  burdensome  solicitations.  But 
our  affairs,  alas !  are  in  a  state  which  obliges  us  to  load 
you  beyond  our  desire.  If  God  grant  that  we  preserve  our 
existence  and  power,  we  will  show  our  eternal  gratitude,  to 
the  extent  of  our  ability,  with  steadfast  brotherly  love,  never 
separating  ourselves  from  you."  At  length  the  contingents 
began  to  arrive  in  the  city,  and  were  then  promptly  dispatched 
to  a  general  meeting-place  in  the  village  of  Giimminen,  on  the 
road  to  Murten.  Besides  the  troops  of  the  Swiss  states  them- 
selves, came  Duke  Renatus  of  Lorraine,  Count  Tierstein,  an 
Austrian  Governor,  the  Count  of  Gruyeres,  and  reinforcements 
from  Elsass  —  making  a  total  of  about  25,000  men,  the  same 
in  number  as  the  Burgundian  army.  The  men  of  Zurich  alone 
failed  to  respond  promptly,  in  spite  of  Hans  Waldmann's  earn- 
est entreaties.  It  was  not  until  the  22d  of  June  that  the 
whole  Confederate  army  advanced  upon  Murten. 


230  THE  KISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

The  battle  was  fought  in  the  rolling  country,  partly  wooded 
and  partly  rising  in  tablelands,  which  separates  the  lake 
of  Murten  from  the  valley  of  the  Saane  (Sarine).  Charles, 
the  Bold,  had  brought  his  troops  from  Murten  to  meet 
the  enemy  in  this  region,  leaving  only  a  small  body  to 
watch  the  besieged  town.  He  placed  his  centre  at  Miinchen- 
wiler,  the  right  wing  at  Cressier,  where  stood  a  chapel 
dedicated  to  St.  Urbaine,  and  his  left  near  the  forest  of 
Murten.  The  Confederates  sent  a  body  of  cavalry,  their 
Alsatian  allies,  to  spy  out  his  position  in  the  early  morning, 
causing  the  Burgundians  to  hastily  take  up  their  position  in 
battle-array.  In  reality  it  was  not  till  noon  that  the  attack 
began.  In  the  meantime,  as  hour  after  hour  slipped  by  with- 
out leading  to  hostilities,  Charles  allowed  his  troops  to  scatter 
and  gave  up  all  expectation  of  a  battle  that  day.  When  finally 
the  whole  Swiss  army  appeared,  he  was  taken  by  surprise,  and 
his  dispositions  had  to  be  made  with  great  haste. 

It  appears  that  the  Confederates  were  at  first  brought  to 
a  standstill  by  a  palisade  of  some  sort  which  the  Burgundians 
had  erected.  They  were  mercilessly  cut  down  by  a  well- 
directed  artillery  fire.  A  detachment,  however,  was  sent 
around  to  attack  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy.  As  soon  as 
the  success  of  this  latter  movement  was  assured,  the  whole 
Swiss  force  broke  through  and  drove  the  Burgundians  pell  mell 
upon  Murten.  In  vain  did  Charles  try  to  stem  the  current 
of  retreat;  his  troops,  as  at  Grandson,  seemed  incapable  of 
facing  the  Swiss;  neither  his  splendid  cavalry  nor  the  far- 
famed  English  bowmen  who  accompanied  him,  could  be 
brought  to  a  standstill.  He  himself  escaped  by  the  road  to 
Avenches,  but  the  mass  of  the  infantry  were  hemmed  in  at 
Murten  by  the  pitiless  hosts  of  the  Confederates  and  the 
cavalry  of  their  allies.  Here  the  defenceless  and  demoralized 
Burgundians  were  butchered  without  remorse  or  driven  into 
the  lake  and  drowned.  It  was  an  act  of  deliberate  ferocity, 
for  the  Confederates  had  agreed  to  slay  everyone  within 
reach.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was,  therefore,  enormous  — 


THE    WAR    WITH    CHARLES   THE  BOLD.         231 

according  to  Panigarola,  the  Milanese  ambassador,  somewhere 
between  8,000  and  10,000,  while  the  Swiss  did  not  lose  more 
than  a  few  hundred  men.  On  the  other  hand,  the  booty  was 
nothing  like  as  valuable  as  that  of  Grandson. 

The  last  chapter  of  this  great  Burgundian  war  was  enacted 
a  year  later,  at  Nancy,  when  Renatus,  Duke  of  Lorraine, 
called  upon  his  allies,  the  Swiss,  to  help  him  reconquer  his 
country  from  Charles,  the  Bold.  More  than  8,000  Confeder- 
ates took  part  in  a  decisive  battle  under  the  walls  of  Nancy. 
Two  days  after,  the  body  of  the  restless  and  foolhardy  Duke 
was  discovered  near  the  city,  disfigured  almost  beyond  recog- 
nition. He  had  been  carried  away  in  the  general  flight  of 
his  troops  and  killed  by  some  unknown  J>£hd. 

Mr.  Freeman  has  justly  said:  "The  history  of  Charles  is 
a  history  of  the  highest  and  most  varied  interest.  The  tale 
as  a  mere  tale,  as  a  narrative  of  personal  adventure  and  a  dis- 
play of  personal  character,  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  in 
European  history." l  Walter  Scott  has  sufficiently  popularized 
the  outlines  of  his  general  career  in  the  two  novels  of  "  Anne 
of  Geierstein  "  and  "  Quentin  Durward  ",  to  make  him  a  famil- 
iar figure  to  readers  of  English.  But  nothing  can  surpass  the 
simple,  concise  pathos  of  the  ancient  rhyme  which  told  how 
Charles  lost : 

Bei  Grandson  das  Gut, 
Bei  Murten  den  Mut, 
Bei  Nancy  das  Blut. 2 

1  Freeman,  E.  A.     Historical  Essays.    Vol.  I,  p.  335. 

2  Dandliker,  K.     Geschichte.  p.  226. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    COVENANT    OF    STANS. 

THE  effect  of  the  Burgundian  war  upon  the  Swiss  people 
has  been  aptly  likened  to  that  of  the  Persian  wars  upon 
the  Greeks  or  the  Punic  upon  the  Romans.  It  widened  their 
horizon  ;  it  opened  up  new  fields  of  enterprise,  and  led  to  the 
point  of  highest  military  renown  in  the  history  of  Switzerland ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  it  admitted  fresh  dangers  and  hitherto 
unknown  temptations,  and  proved  the  precursor  of  an  internal 
crisis  which  brought  the  Confederation  to  the  verge  of  dissolu- 
tion. The  generation,  which  grew  up  after  the  Burgundian 
period,  was  corrupted  by  booty  or  the  lust  of  it,  by  the  uncer- 
tain pay  and  flattering  annuities  of  Sovereigns  who  cared 
nothing  for  the  real  welfare  of  the  Swiss,  but  only  sought  to 
procure  them  as  mercenaries. 

No  sooner  was  the  exhilaration  of  actual  warfare  a  thing  of 
the  past,  than  the  old  rivalry  between  the  cities  and  the  coun- 
try districts  flamed  up  anew.  This  time  a  further  cause  of 
dissension  came  to  light,  namely,  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
Forest  States  with  the  distribution  of  booty  taken  in  the  late 
war,  and  with  the  tribute  exacted  from  conquered  states. 

The  preponderance  of  power  had  been  for  a  long  time  tend- 
ing to  pass  over  to  the  three  cities  of  the  Confederation,  in 
fact,  the  leadership  of  the  country  districts,  if  it  existed  at  all, 
was  purely  historical,  and  the  cities,  especially  Bern,  had 
undoubtedly  managed  the  campaign  against  Charles  of  Bur- 
gundy. A  number  of  incidents  followed  each  other  in  quick 
succession  which  helped  to  increase  the  antagonism.  In  1477, 
some  unemployed  mercenaries  at  Carnival  time  broke  forth 

232 


THE  COVENANT  OF  STANS.  233 

from  Zug  and  overran  the  country,  demanding  tribute  from 
the  cities.  Even  distant  Geneva  was  obliged  to  pay  a  good 
round  sum  in  order  to  propitiate  this  "joyous  band  of  the  mad 
life",  as  the  adventurers  called  themselves.  Under  the  plea 
that  this  uproar  had  received  the  connivance  of  the  authori- 
ties in  the  country  districts,  the  cities  met  and  formed  them- 
selves into  a  separate  league  with  a  separate  Diet.  By  entering 
into  this  alliance,  Luzern  broke  that  article  of  her  league  with 
the  Forest  States,  which  especially  declared  that  none  of  the 
contracting  parties  were  to  make  alliances  with  other  powers 
except  by  the  permission  of  the  rest.  For  this  broken  faith 
the  Forest  Cantons  incited  the  Entlibuch  to  rebel,  a  district 
held  in  subjection  by  Luzern.  The  rebellion  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  its  object,  but  served  to  increase  the  tension  which 
already  existed  between  the  two  parties.  Another  object  of 
contention  was  the  admission  of  Fribourg  and  Solothurn  into 
the  Confederation,  demanded  by  the  cities.  The  country  dis- 
tricts, on  the  other  hand,  refused,  because  this  addition  to  the 
number  of  cities  would  have  given  them  a  definite  preponder- 
ance in  the  Confederation.  A  welcome  diversion  for  a  mo- 
ment drew  the  attention  of  the  contending  parties  elsewhere, 
to  an  expedition  into  Milanese  territory,  where  they  gained  a 
brilliant  victory  at  the  little  village  of  Giornico,  in  1478.  No 
sooner  was  this  adventure  over,  than  the  quarrel  broke  out 
afresh,  with  increased  violence.  It  became  evident  that  noth- 
ing short  of  a  complete  revision  of  the  leagues  which  bound 
together  the  various  States  of  the  Confederation  would  pre- 
vent this  Constitutional  crisis  from  developing  into  Civil  war. 

An  agreement  was  finally  made  to  hold  a  Diet  at  Stans  in 
the  State  of  Unterwalden.  There  the  grievances  of  the  two 
parties  could  be  discussed  and  a  definite  solution  given  to  the 
questions  which  were  demoralizing  the  state. 

In  1481,  this  assembly  of  delegates  drew  up  a  charter,  which 
was  known  as  "The  Covenant  of  Stans  "  (Stanser  Verkommnis], 
but  not  before  the  delegates,  thus  convened,  had  been  several 
times  upon  the  point  of  going  apart  amid  scenes  of  the  great- 


234          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

est  disorder.  It  is  related  by  the  only  contemporary  chron- 
icler of  this  famous  convention,  Diebold  Schilling,  of  Luzern, 
that  just  as  the  meeting  was  breaking  up  without  having 
reached  an  agreement,  and  war  seemed  inevitable,  Nicholas 
von  der  Flue,  a  hermit  who  lived  near  by  at  Sachseln,  was 
asked  for  advice  by  the  parish  priest  of  Stans.  The  excited 
delegates  were  persuaded  to  listen  to  his  words  of  reconcilia- 
tion and  peace.  In  consequence  of  this  intervention  the  Diet 
was  not  fruitless,  for  the  delegates  resumed  their  labors,  and 
brought  them  to  a  successful  termination  by  drawing  up  the 
above-mentioned  Covenant.  It  was  agreed  that  the  separate 
leagues  of  the  cities  should  be  annulled,  and  that  Fribourg 
and  Solothurn  should  be  admitted  into  the  Confederation. 

Moved  by  the  remembrance  of  the  popular  excesses  which 
had  been  of  frequent  occurrence  within  recent  years,  the  Con- 
federates were  persuaded  to  insert  into  the  Covenant  two 
articles  of  a  restrictive  character.  "  We  have  also  agreed  and 
determined,"  says  the  text,  "that  hereafter  no  one  amongst 
us  and  in  our  Confederation  shall  secretly  or  openly,  in  town 
or  country,  hold  any  unusual,  dangerous  gatherings,  assemblies 
or  discussions,  from  which  there  might  result  harm,  tumult  or 
mischief  to  any  one,  without  the  will  and  permission  of  his 
lords  and  superiors."  .  .  .  "And  if  contrary  to  this  [stip- 
ulation], any  amongst  us  should  undertake  to  hold,  or  give 
help,  or  advice,  concerning  any  such  aforesaid  dangerous 
gatherings,  assemblies  or  discussions,  he  and  those  men  shall 
straightway  and  without  hindrance  from  their  lords  and  supe- 
riors be  punished  according  to  their  fault."1 

The  stipulations  of  the  Covenant  of  Sempach  and  the  Priest's 
Charter  were  reaffirmed  at  the  end  of  this  document ;  and  to 
familiarize  the  rising  generation  with  the  leagues  which  bound 
the  several  States  to  each  other,  it  was  agreed  that  they  should 
be  sworn  to  every  five  years. 

It  is  important  to  note  the  drift  of  public  opinion  at  this 
time  as  expressed  in  the  article  I  have  quoted  above.  The 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  203. 


THE   COVENANT   OF  STANS.  235 

repression  of  popular  excesses  was  undoubtedly  within  the 
province  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  Confederates,  but 
to  forbid  all  popular  meetings  of  any  sort,  all  expressions  of 
the  public  will,  whatever  their  purport,  was  to  deal  a  crushing 
blow  to  the  democratic  principles  and  practices  which  had  so 
far  been  the  chief  glory  of  Switzerland.  In  fact,  an  aristocratic 
wave  was  passing  over  the  land,  due  partly  to  the  prepon- 
derance of  the  cities  which  were  governed  by  powerful  mag- 
istrates instead  of  open-air  assemblies  like  the  country  districts, 
and  partly  to  the  influence  of  foreign  Courts.  As  a  sign  of  the 
times,  therefore,  these  stipulations  of  the  Covenant  are  omin- 
ous, and  prophetic  of  a  certain  decay  of  democracy, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    WAR   AGAINST    THE   EMPIRE. 

THE  signing  of  the  Covenant  of  Stans  was  followed  by 
about  fifteen  years  of  comparative  peace,  broken  only 
momentarily  by  a  successful  expedition  into  Milanese  terri- 
tory, and  by  the  autocratic,  and  at  times  violent,  career  of 
Hans  Waldmann,  now  Burgermeister  of  Zurich. 

In  1449,  the  reigning  tranquility  was  brought  to  a  close  in 
an  unexpected  manner.  The  Swiss  Confederates  became 
involved  in  a  quarrel  with  the  German  emperor  himself,  a 
quarrel  which  finally  resulted  in  their  complete  separation 
from  the  empire.  Heretofore  there  had  been  no  thought  of 
breaking  with  the  traditional  allegiance ;  on  the  contrary  the 
Confederates  had  always  set  a  great  value  upon  the  protection 
thus  received.  But  a  change  in  the  relations  between  the  two 
parties  was  now  imminent. 

Of  course  the  Swiss  Confederation  was  originally  only  one 
of  many  leagues  which  arose  in  the  course  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  its  creation  was  due  not  to  hostility  against  the 
empire,  but  against  the  encroachments  of  Habsburg-Austria. 
When,  however,  all  the  other  leagues  gradually  sank  into 
impotence,  leaving  the  Swiss  alone  to  testify  to  the  principles 
inherent  in  such  organizations,  the  latter  naturally  assumed  a 
peculiar  position  within  the  Empire.  Moreover,  as  the  house 
of  Habsburg,  the  traditional  enemy,  once  more  came  to  the 
throne  of  Germany,  the  amicable  relations  between  the  Swiss 
and  the  sovereign  received  a  severe  shock. 

Add  to  this  that  the  Burgundian  War  had  taught  the  Con- 
federates their  real  strength  and  self-sufficiency ;  that  they  had 


THE    WAR  AGAINST  THE  EMPIRE.  237 

entered  into  a  close  alliance  with  the  King  of  France,  then  at 
enmity  with  the  German  Emperor;  and  finally  that  their  dem- 
ocratic principles  and  practices  were  in  continual  contrast  to 
the  aristocratic  organization  of  Germany,  and  we  have  an 
explanation  of  the  movement  which,  at  this  time,  led  to  the 
separation  of  Confederates  from  the  Empire  of  which  they 
nominally  formed  a  part. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Maximilian  I.  carried  out  a  com- 
plete reorganization  of  the  Empire  at  the  celebrated  Diet  of 
Worms,  in  1495,  instituting  an  Imperial  Chamber  and  new  sub- 
divisions of  the  whole  country.  The  Swiss,  being  still  nominal 
members  of  the  Empire,  were  asked  to  give  their  acquiescence 
to  these  changes  and  to  subscribe  their  share  to  the  public 
expenses  ;  but,  proud  of  their  independent  position,  and  satisfied 
with  their  own  way  of  governing  themselves,  the  Swiss  refused 
to  take  part  in  this  reorganization  or  to  pay  the  imperial  taxes 
demanded  of  them.  Instead  of  this,  they  allied  themselves 
still  more  closely  with  the  King  of  France,  who  rewarded  them 
with  money,  in  pay  and  pensions.  When  Maximilian  threat- 
ened to  invade  the  Confederation  if  his  demands  were  not  com- 
plied with,  the  Biirgermeister  of  Zurich,  who  had  been  sent  to 
carry  on  the  negotiations,  is  said  to  have  replied :  "  Gracious 
lord,  I  should  not  advise  you  to  do  this ;  we  have  so  ignorant 
and  rustic  a  populace,  that  they  would  not  spare,  I  fear,  even 
the  imperial  crown." 

While  this  slumbering  antagonism  contributed  not  a  little  to 
the  war  which  followed,  actual  hostilities  were  precipitated  by 
quite  another  cause.  The  leagues  of  Graubiinden,  which  we 
have  seen  allying  themselves  with  the  Confederates,  were  just 
at  this  time  suffering  severely  at  the  hands  of  their  Austrian 
neighbors  in  the  Tyrol,  and,  in  their  need,  called  upon  the 
Swiss  to  help  them.  With  this  a  desultory,  devastating  war 
began,  which  was  sometimes  sharpest  upon  the  Northern  front- 
ier, sometimes  upon  the  Eastern.  The  first  encounter  between 
the  Swiss  and  the  Swabian  League,  which  had  been  formed  in 
the  South  of  Germany  under  the  patronage  of  the  Emperor, 


238          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

was  at  Bruderholz,  near  Basel.  Here,  as  in  all  the  subsequent 
battles  of  this  war,  the  Swiss  defeated  an  enemy  much  superior 
to  them  in  point  of  numbers,  but  undisciplined  and  not  anima- 
ted by  a  definite  purpose.  An  unusually  bloody  encounter 
took  place  soon  after,  at  Frastenz,  in  the  Tyrol,  and  Maximilian 
himself  sent  an  imperial  army  to  reinforce  the  Austrians  sta- 
tioned there,  but  without  success,  for  another  battle  was 
fought  near  the  gorge  of  the  Calven  in  the  Miinsterthal  which 
resulted  in  a  perfect  slaughter  of  the  Austrians. 

The  decisive  battle  of  this  war  was  fought  at  Dornach  near 
Basel,  where  the  Swabian  army  was  surprised  by  the  Swiss 
and  cut  to  pieces. 

In  1499,  the  Peace  of  Basel  put  an  end  to  this  war.  The 
Confederates  had  proved  themselves  stronger  than  the  forces 
of  the  German  Empire.  From  now  on,  although  they  were 
not  expressly  declared  independent,  they  practically  formed 
a  separate  organization.  It  was  not  until  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  later,  at  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia,  in  1648,  that 
their  independence  received  the  formal  acknowledgement  of 
the  powers. 

In  1501,  as  one  of  the  results  of  the  Swabian  war,  the  towns 
of  Schaffhausen  and  Basel,  old  and  trusted  allies  on  many 
occasions,  were  definitely  received  into  the  Confederation 
as  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  members. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SWITZERLAND   AND   THE   BALANCE    OF    POWER   IN   EUROPE. 

AT  this  moment  the  r61e  which  the  Confederation  assumed 
in  European  politics  became  almost  dramatic  in  inten- 
sity and  brilliancy.  The  rude  mountaineers  actually  held  the 
balance  of  power  during  the  period  which  succeeded  the  Swa- 
bian  war  and  preceded  the  Reformation.  With  justice,  there- 
fore do  Swiss  writers  describe  this  era  of  their  history  as 
the  most  glorious  in  diplomacy  and  war,  but  the  most  demora- 
lizing, ethically  and  morally. 

Their  ambassadors  were  f£ted  and  flattered  at  all  the  foreign 
courts.  The  chief  towns  of  the  States  were  haunted  by  emis- 
saries, intriguing  to  secure  fresh  levies  of  troops.  The  time 
came  when  the  richest  prince  would  invariably  secure  the  ser- 
vices of  these  mercenaries,  the  most  desirable  soldiers  in 
Europe.  "Point  d*  argent,  point  de  Suisse"  was  the  saying 
which  then  arose,  and  has  ever  since  been  made  a  cause  of 
reproach  to  the  Confederation,  although  an  explanation  of  the 
origin  of  this  sentence  has  been  given,  which,  if  correct,  makes 
it  redound  to  the  honor,  rather  than  to  the  shame,  of  the  mer- 
cenaries. It  appears  that,  while  in  the  service  of  France, 
some  Swiss  troops  were  unable  to  obtain  their  pay,  and  they 
therefore  declared  their  intention  of  returning  home.  They 
were  urged,  however,  to  live  by  brigandage,  like  other  bands  of 
mercenaries  out  of  employment,  until  they  could  be 
re-engaged ;  and  when  they  refused  to  do  this,  a  French  gen- 
eral is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  Point  d 'argent ', point  de  Suisse" 
in  impatience  at  their  scruples.  Even  if  this  explanation  is 
far-fetched  and  improbable,  there  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  in 

239 


240          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

excuse  of  the  Swiss  ;  the  barrenness  of  their  mountains,  the 
hard  struggle  for  existence  in  the  face  of  the  contending  ele- 
ments, and  their  training  in  the  use  of  arms,  must  all  be  taken 
as  extenuating  circumstances.  Perhaps  the  best  answer 
which  has  ever  been  given  to  this  reproach  was  that  made  by 
a  Swiss  to  a  Frenchman.  "We  fight  for  honor,  you  for 
money/'  said  the  Frenchman.  "Yes,"  replied  the  Swiss,  "we 
both  fight  for  what  we  have  not  got." 

In  fact,  fighting  for  pay  was  considered  a  perfectly  legitimate 
and  honorable  means  of  gaining  a  living.  The  only  trouble 
was  that,  in  the  confusion  of  promises  to  various  sovereigns, 
Swiss  troops  were  sometimes  found  in  opposing  armies,  and 
although  they  are  not  known  to  have  actually  fought  against 
each  other,  the  mere  fact  that  they  could  thus  support  antag- 
onistic policies  at  the  same  time  shook  the  respect  in  which 
they  had  heretofore  been  held,  and  brought  bitter  reproach  upon 
their  native  land. 

The  authority  of  the  central  government  of  the  Confeder- 
ation, as  distinguished  from  that  of  the  several  states,  was 
found  too  weak  and  impotent  to  grapple  with  this  evil  of  the 
mercenary  system.  In  vain  did  consecutive  Diets  forbid 
young  men  to  hire  themselves  out  for  foreign  service,  in  vain 
were  the  disastrous  consequences  of  this  conduct  explained 
and  insisted  upon  —  the  whole  country  was  given  up  to  war 
and  intrigue. 

The  power  of  the  Confederation  was  exerted  mainly  upon 
affairs  in  Italy,  which  had  become  a  prize  of  contention  in  Euro- 
pean politics.  At  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  Italy  was  in  a  state  of  political  demor- 
alization and  disintegration.  Although  it  was  pre-eminently  the 
home  of  art,  and  the  centre  of  great  commercial  activity  and 
wealth,  it  was  nevertheless  a  prey  to  internal  dissensions,  and 
was  powerless  against  the  attacks  of  foreign  invaders.  It  was 
mainly  in  Milan  that  the  influence  of  the  Swiss  made  itself 
felt,  where  a  conflict  arose  between  Charles  VIII.,  King  of 


SWITZERLAND'S  POWER  IN  EUROPE.          241 

France,  who  laid  claims  to  that  city,  and  the  Dukes  of  the  fam- 
ily of  Sforza.  By  throwing  their  influence  now  on  one  side 
now  on  the  other,  the  Swiss  could  decide  the  issues  of  this 
long-drawn  contest.  At  first  they  were  allied  with  France, 
which  had  overrun  the  whole  of  Italy,  but  when  the  Pope  con- 
cluded the  so-called  Holy  League,  with  the  object  of  driving  the 
French  out  of  Italy,  they  were  induced  to  change  sides,  and 
found  themselves  arrayed  against  their  former  ally.  It  must 
be  said  that  the  unsophisticated  Swiss  knew  nothing  about  the 
Pope's  true  plans,  of  his  ambitious  design  of  becoming  a  great 
political  master,  but  merely  supposed  that  his  spiritual  suprem- 
acy was  threatened.  They  were,  therefore,  easily  persuaded 
to  send  troops  by  the  Pope's  emissary,  Matthaus  Schinner,  an 
ecclesiastic  of  the  Upper  Valais,  later  created  first  Swiss  Car- 
dinal for  these  services. 

They  repeatedly  invaded  Northern  Italy  on  their  own 
account,  always  conquering  and  plundering.  On  one  occasion 
they  penetrated  to  Pavia,  in  their  midst  being  Ulrich  Zwingli, 
the  later  Reformer,  but  at  that  time  army  chaplain,  and  a 
staunch  partisan  of  the  Papal  pretensions.  They  reinstated 
Max  Sforza  in  Milan  and  drove  the  French  from  his  territories. 
In  1513,  however,  the  French  returned,  reconquered  Milan, 
and  were  apparently  once  more  masters  of  the  situation. 
When  the  news  of  this  exploit  reached  the  Confederates,  a 
large  army  was  collected  to  march  to  the  relief  of  Milan.  At 
Novara  a  decisive  battle  was  fought,  which  forced  the  French 
again  to  evacuate  the  country ;  the  Swiss  had  once  more  proved 
themselves  too  strong  for  the  King  of  France. 

This  apparently  interminable  fight  for  Milan  was  finally 
decided  in  favor  of  the  French  by  a  tremendous  battle  near 
Marignano,  or  modern  Melegnano.  Francis  I.,  ambitious  and 
enterprising,  determined  to  retrieve  the  disasters  of  his  prede- 
cessors in  that  field,  and  to  attack  Milan  with  an  overwhelming 
force.  For  this  purpose  he  collected  an  army  of  60,000  men, 
magnificently  equipped,  and  supplied  with  the  best  artillery  of 
the  day.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  he  had  taken  every- 


242  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

thing  up  to  within  a  short  distance  of  Milan.  The  Swiss, 
in  the  meantime,  were  undecided  whether  to  check  the 
advancing  tide  or  to  withdraw  from  a  contest  in  which  they 
had  only  an  indirect  interest ;  but  Cardinal  Schinner,  who 
was  filled  with  a  bitter  hatred  against  the  French,  succeeded 
by  a  trick  in  forcing  the  Swiss  to  fight.  About  24,000  Con- 
federates opposed  the  advance  of  the  French  army  at  Marig- 
nano,  where  a  terrible  struggle  took  place,  which  deserves  to 
rank  amongst  the  bloodiest  encounters  in  history.  The  first 
day  of  the  fight  remained  indecisive ;  both  sides  maintained 
their  positions,  fighting  by  the  light  of  the  moon  until  mid- 
night, but  next  morning,  when  the  battle  was  renewed  at  dusk, 
the  superior  numbers  and  the  effective  artillery  of  the  French 
began  to  tell  heavily  upon  the  Swiss.  Still  they  fought  on, 
holding  their  own  by  prodigies  of  valor.  Unfortunately,  at  the 
critical  moment,  when  the  two  armies  were  so  thoroughly 
exhausted  that  the  slightest  advantage  given  to  one  or  the 
other  was  decisive,  the  French  received  reinforcements  from 
Venice,  and  forced  their  brave  opponents  to  yield  the  ground. 
In  perfect  order,  defending  themselves  to  the  last  with  hero- 
ism, the  Swiss  executed  a  retreat  which  has  never  been  sur- 
passed in  the  history  of  military  tactics  for  bravery  and  order. 

The  battle  of  Marignano  put  an  end  to  the  international  role 
which  the  Swiss  Confederation  had  been  playing  since  the 
Swabian  War,  for,  although  still  much  sought  after  and  feared 
for  their  military  power,  the  Swiss  no  longer  were  able  to 
decide  European  issues  by  the  weight  of  their  influence. 

Amongst  the  many  results  of  the  Italian  campaign  we  may 
cite  as  the  most  important  the  definite  admittance  of  Appen- 
zell  into  the  Confederation  as  the  thirteenth  State. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    THIRTEEN    SWISS    STATES    AND    THE    THIRTEEN    AMERICAN 

COLONIES. 

IN  what  respects  did  the  Confederation  of  Thirteen  States 
differ  from  that  of  the  Eight  old  States  ? 

There  are  a  number  of  striking  changes  to  note,  both  in  the 
foreign  relations  and  in  the  internal  constitution  of  this 
enlarged  Confederation.  There  are  evidences,  not  only  of 
great  territorial  expansion,  but  ako  of  entirely  new  departures 
in  the  principles  and  practices  of  government. 

After  the  Swabian  war,  the  Confederation  had  become,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  independent  of  the  German  Empire,  lead- 
ing a  life  apart  from  the  parent  stem,  and  developing  foreign 
policies  of  its  own.  In  fact,  as  time  went  on,  the  Swiss  found 
themselves  drawn  closer  and  closer  into  an  alliance  with  the 
natural  enemy  of  the  Empire,  with  France,  the  strongly  centra- 
lized and  wealthy  state,  which  supplied  them  with  unlimited 
pay  and  pensions  in  return  for  military  services.  The  fifteenth 
century  also  saw  the  accomplishment  of  an  undertaking  which 
the  men  of  the  fourteenth  would  have  scouted  as  impossible 
and  visionary,  a  perpetual  peace  was  established,  clearly  drawn 
up  and  signed,  between  the  Confederates  and  their  hereditary 
enemy,  the  Dukes  of  Austria. 

The  incorporation  of  five  new  States,  as  well  as  the  addition 
of  a  number  of  allies  and  of  conquered  or  subject  districts,  gave 
the  Confederation  of  Thirteen  States  an  unbroken  frontier  and 
made  of  it  a  compact,  geographical  whole.  Besides  these  thir- 
teen States,  which  were  the  real  privileged  members,  there  were 
a  number  of  allies,  or  Zugewandte  Orte,  bound  sometimes  to 

243 


244          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

one,  sometimes  to  more  of  the  thirteen  States.  Amongst  these 
were  the  Abbot  and  Town  of  St.  Gallen,  the  Prince-Bishop  of 
Basel,  the  Count  of  Neuchatel,  the  towns  of  Bienne,  Miilhausen 
in  Elsass,  Rotweil  in  Swabia,  and  the  two  republics  of  the  Val- 
ais  and  Graubiinden.  We  might  add  the  little  miniature 
republic  of  Gersau  on  the  lake  of  Luzern,  which  was  really 
never  incorporated  into  any  of  the  States  until  the  beginning 
of  this  century,  when  it  became  part  of  the  Canton  of  Schwiz. 

The  subject  lands,  or  Untertanenlande,  were  the  Aargau  and 
Thurgau,  administered  in  common,  the  former  by  eight  States, 
the  latter  by  ten,  the  Rheinthal,  Sargans,  Gaster,  and  Utznach, 
Morat,  Grandson,  Orbe,  and  Echallens,  Bellinzona,  Lugano, 
Locarno,  Mendrisio,  and  the  Val  Maggia  —  all  these  districts 
were  governed  by  various  combinations  from  amongst  the  Thir- 
teen States.  The  confusion  resulting  from  rivalries  and  jeal- 
ousies in  administering  the  affairs  of  these  common  possessions 
was  one  of  the  worst  features  in  the  organization  of  the  Thir- 
teen States,  and  was  the  cause  of  endless  corruption  in  ages  to 
come. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  enumeration  of  names,  that 
of  the  twenty-two  Cantons,  now  forming  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion, at  that  time  only  thirteen  were  full-fledged  members, 
four  were  still  allies,  three  were  in  the  inferior  position  of  sub- 
ject or  conquered  lands,  and  two,  Vaud  and  Geneva,  had  not 
yet  entered  into  direct  relations  with  the  Confederation  at  all. 

From  a  constitutional  standpoint,  the  Confederation  of  Thir- 
teen States  had  not  advanced  much  beyond  that  of  the  Eight. 
The  want  of  a  central,  controlling  force  was  as  glaring  as  ever, 
and  the  whole  still  presented  the  appearance  of  a  group  of 
states,  united  rather  by  the  force  of  circumstances  than  by 
premeditation.  The  Covenant  of  Stans  undoubtedly  tended 
toward  centralization,  and  continued  the  work  of  founding  a 
body  of  Federal  Law,  begun  by  the  Priest's  Charter  and  by 
the  Covenant  of  Sempach,  but  in  any  case,  the  advance  was 
very  small,  and  in  the  Covenant  of  Stans  was  marred  by  the 
autocratic  provisions  which  forbade  public  meetings. 


THE   THIRTEEN  SWISS  STATES.  245 

The  Diets,  however,  or  Tagsatzungen,  to  which  delegates 
were  sent  from  the  several  States,  began  to  assume  certain 
regular  features,  although  it  was  not  till  later  that  they 
received  fixed  times  and  places  of  meeting.  Unfortunately, 
the  laws  and  resolutions  of  these  Diets  usually  remained  inop- 
erative from  the  very  impotence  of  the  assemblies.  There 
was  no  executive  authority  to  enforce  the  regulations.  In 
the  first  place,  the  delegates  had  not  a  free  hand  to  vote  as 
seemed  best  to  them;  they  acted  entirely  according  to  the 
instructions  which  they  took  with  them  from  the  home  author- 
ities. If  no  decision  was  reached,  the  delegates  were  obliged 
to  return  for  new  instructions.  But  suppose  the  delegates 
re-assembled  for  reconsideration,  it  did  not  suffice  that  a  majority 
of  them  consented  to  the  proposed  piece  of  legislation ;  every 
bill  to  become  a  law  must  receive  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
delegates.  One  obdurate  State  could  defeat  the  wishes  of 
the  whole  Confederation.  And  when  the  law  was  once  passed 
there  was  no  executive  power  to  enforce  it;  the  individual 
States  were  at  liberty  to  choose  whether  or  not  they  would 
obey  the  injunctions  of  the  Diets.  As  a  result,  certain  States 
might  vote  in  favor  of  good  resolutions  for  form's  sake  and  at 
the  same  time  never  comply  with  them  practically.  This  mode 
of  procedure  was  especially  resorted  to  in  all  matters  connected 
with  the  mercenary  system  and  the  foreign  pensions.  Success- 
ive Diets  voted  to  suppress  these  evils,  which  were  felt  to  be 
eating  away  the  virtue  of  the  country,  but  the  individual  states 
did  not  enforce  the  provisions  made  to  counteract  the  spread- 
ing corruption. 

Amongst  the  new  departures  inaugurated  at  this  time  were, 
first,  the  common  bailiwicks,  such  as  the  Aargau  and  Thurgau, 
and  then  a  singular  provision  inserted  into  the  leagues  con- 
cluded with  Basel,  Schaffhausen,  and  Appenzell.  This  stipu- 
lated that  the  new  members  should  give  aid  against  a  foreign 
foe,  but  in  case  the  Confederates  quarrelled  amongst  them- 
selves, they  were  to  make  every  attempt  to  reconcile  the 
adversaries.  If  these  efforts  did  not  succeed  they  were  to 


246          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

remain  neutral  or,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  to  "sit  still"  while 
the  Confederates  fought  out  their  quarrel. 

Whatever  the  inherent  weaknesses  of  this  loose  Confedera- 
tion of  the  Thirteen  States,  it  must  have  contained  elements  of 
strength  for  it  lasted  no  less  than  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  years  as  then  constituted. 

But  what  are  the  points  of  resemblance  which  can  be 
traced  between  those  Thirteen  Swiss  States  and  the  Thirteen 
American  Colonies  before  their  growth  into  an  independent 
nation  ? 

In  both  countries  the  states  were  practically  self-governing, 
owing  only  nominal  allegiance  to  a  distant  supreme  ruler.  In 
both  countries  there  was  the  same  absence  of  a  central  control- 
ling organization,  although  the  national  spirit  was  vigorous 
and  assertive.  The  American  colonies,  however,  were  fortu- 
nate in  not  possessing  subject  lands  to  debauch  their  gov- 
ernments. It  is  true  that  the  Western  territory  for  awhile 
proved  a  dangerous  bone  of  contention  amongst  them,  but  the 
wisdom  shown  by  Congress  in  carving  new  states  out  of  that 
territory  soon  removed  all  cause  for  jealousy.  Indeed,  the 
process  of  absorbing  the  Western  lands  into  the  Union  has 
been  admirable  in  its  simplicity  and  success.  Switzerland 
had  no  vast  area  of  virgin  soil  to  assimilate ;  its  growth  was 
strictly  circumscribed  to  the  few  states  it  could  attract  within 
its  orbit  or  to  those  it  could  conquer  outright.  The  American 
colonies  naturally  expanded  westward,  away  from  the  narrow 
strip  of  sea-coast,  but  the  Swiss  states  had  no  such  store-house 
of  well-nigh  unlimited  resoures  to  draw  upon.  As  Mr.  J.  F. 
Kirk  has  said  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  in  the  middle  of 
the  fifteenth  century  :  "  It  had  now  entered  upon  a  course  of 
retaliation  and  of  foreign  enterprise.  Its  former  assailants, 
stripped  of  their  possessions  in  Helvetia  [sic]  and  unable  to 
arrest  the  flood  which  their  own  temerity  had  set  in  motion, 
were  treated  with  a  retributive  and  scornful  insolence,  saw 
their  provinces  exposed  to  perpetual  incursions,  and  their 
towns,  if  not  in  open  mutiny,  inviting  the  friendship  of  the 


THE   THIRTEEN  SWISS  STATES.  247 

invaders,  and  seeking  admission  into  the  league."1  That  was 
the  method  by  which  the  Swiss  Confederation  enlarged  its  area. 

The  first  irregular  Diets  of  the  Confederation  were  not 
unlike  the  occasional  Congresses  convened  by  the  Colonies  — 
deliberative  bodies  without  constitutional  attributes,  and  with- 
out the  necessary  powers  to  enforce  their  decrees. 

It  is  interesting,  also,  to  notice  the  difference  in  the  growth 
of  the  two  groups  of  states  from  mere  aggregations  into  firm 
organisms,  to  measure  the  intervals  between  epoch-making 
charters  in  their  evolutionary  progress.  It  took  the  Swiss 
Confederation  no  less  than  five  hundred  and  twenty-four  years 
to  grow  from  a  primitive  league  into  a  state  with  even  a  sem- 
blance of  central  authority,  from  the  Perpetual  Pact  in  1291, 
to  the  Federal  Pact  of  1815.  The  short-lived  constitution  of 
the  Helvetic  Republic,  in  1798,  and  the  Act  of  Mediation,  in 
1803,  cannot  be  reckoned  as  part  of  a  natural  development, 
since  they  were  imposed  upon  Switzerland  by  a  foreign  power. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  took  the  United  States  only  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  years  to  traverse  this  same  period  in  its 
history,  from  the  first  ephemeral  Articles  of  Agreement,  con- 
cluded by  four  of  the  Colonies  in  1643,  to  tne  adoption,  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  in  1781.  The  next  step,  from  a 
loose-jointed  state  into  a  compact  federal  body,  was  accom- 
plished much  more  rapidly  in  both  countries.  In  Switzerland 
after  thirty-three  years  of  dissatisfaction,  and  in  the  United 
States  after  only  eight  years  of  experimenting. 

Prof.  Hart,  in  his  "Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Federal 
Government"  says  on  this  point,  "It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
three  of  the  four  strong  existing  federations  have  passed 
through  a  transition  stage  of  weak  federation,  and  out  of  the 
experiences  of  that  period  have  developed  a  workable  system. 
This  was  the  case  in  America,  as  it  was  the  case  in  Switzer- 
land and  Germany."2 

1  Kirk,  J.  F.     History  of  Charles,  the  Bold.  Vol.  II.,  p.  282. 

2  Hart,  A.  B.      Introduction  to  the  Study  of    Federal   Government,  p.    56. 
(Harvard  Monographs). 


BOOK  IV. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    RISE    OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN    SWITZERLAND. 

QWITZERLAND  has  always  been  too  insignificant  in  point 
O  of  territory  and  population,  and  too  much  on  sufferance 
in  the  midst  of  the  great  European  powers,  to  play  what  could 
be  termed  a  leading  part  upon  the  historical  stage.  It  is  true 
that  for  a  few  years,  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  she 
held  the  balance  of  power,  and  was  able  to  decide  the  issues  of 
European  conflicts  with  the  help  of  her  unequalled  mercenary 
troops ;  but  after  all  this  temporary  advantage  was  not  due  so 
much  to  her  own  strength  as  to  the  demoralization  of  her 
neighbors,  and  in  the  end  proved  neither  creditable  to  her 
honor  nor  profitable  to  her  development.  It  is  also  true  that, 
at  the  present  time,  Switzerland  has  entered  upon  a  life  of 
great  usefulness  and  honor,  influencing  the  world  for  good  both 
by  the  example  of  a  pure  and  progressive  democracy,  and  by 
the  international  unions  of  which  she  is  the  centre.  But  if 
one  were  asked  by  what  movement  within  her  own  borders 
Switzerland  has  made  the  most  profound  and  lasting  impres- 
sion upon  human  development,  and  fully  vindicated  her  right 
to  rank  with  nations  which  have  shaped  the  destinies  of  man, 
the  answer  would  undoubtedly  be :  by  the  Reformation,  as  the 
work  of  Ulrich  Zwingli  at  Zurich,  and  of  John  Calvin  at 
Geneva. 

The  scope  of  this  work  does  not  admit  of  any  examination 
into  the  purely  religious  aspect  of  that  great  movement  which 
swept  through  Christendom  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  writer  will  not  attempt  to  make  any  inquiry 
into  the  respective  merits  of  the  theological  systems  involved 

251 


252          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

in  this  controversy,  enlarging  neither  upon  the  corruption 
which  had  invaded  the  Church,  the  immorality  in  the  monas- 
teries and  nunneries,  the  traffic  in  absolutions  and  livings,  the 
loss  of  spirituality  and  the  decay  of  learning  amongst  the 
clergy ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  upon  the  fanaticism  of  the  Prot- 
estants, their  ruthless  destruction  of  the  good  along  with  evil, 
their  unnatural  condemnation  of  innocent  pleasures  and  their 
unnecessary  cruelty  in  the  hour  of  triumph. 

I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  political  problems,  created  by 
the  Reformation  in  the  Swiss  Confederation,  and  to  the  traces 
which  it  left  upon  the  life  of  that  country. 

For  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Reformation  was  not 
only  a  religious  movement,  it  was  a  new  departure  in  every 
branch  of  human  activity.  Before  its  advent  the  world  had 
grown  stale,  and  man's  wisdom  had  become  unprofitable.  Not 
only  the  dogmas  of  the  theologians,  but  the  very  works  of  the 
artists,  the  experiments  of  the  scientists  and  the  dissertations 
of  the  schoolmen  had  become  puerile  and  perverted,  their 
inspirations  and  aspirations  distorted  and  misdirected,  and 
their  fallacies  perpetuated  themselves  in  a  vicious  sequence 
under  the  dominion  of  fixed,  unalterable  rules.  Upon  such  a 
state  of  society  there  burst,  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  a 
new  force,  whose  sign  was  liberty  —  liberty  of  thought,  of  act- 
ion and  of  spirit.  It  pervaded  every  work  of  man,  and  inaug- 
urated an  era  of  innovation  in  every  department  of  life ;  it 
sent  men  to  study  the  secrets  of  science,  and  invented  the 
printing  press ;  it  drove  others  across  the  seas  in  search  of 
new  continents,  and  discovered  America ;  it  set  scholars  at 
work  upon  the  ancient  classics  distributed  over  Europe  by  the 
fall  of  Constantinople,  and  gave  birth  to  the  revival  in  art  and 
learning  known  as  the  Renaissance.  Politics,  economics,  and 
social  life  felt  this  rejuvenating  breath,  which  opened  fresh 
fields  for  research  and  new  ideals  on  every  hand.  When  we 
consider  how  thoroughly  the  Church  entered  into  the  life  of 
the  men  of  that  day,  by  means  of  her  various  ministrations,  by  her 
influence  over  the  secular  authorities,  and  her  fabulous  wealth, 


THE  RISE   OF  THE  REFORMATION.  253 

it  is  not  surprising  that  she  should  have  felt  the  change  as 
keenly  as  she  did  and  borne  such  lasting  traces  of  the  subse- 
quent struggle. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  Reformation,  the  Swiss  people 
were  exceedingly  well-disposed  toward  the  head  of  the 
Church.  They  were  conspicuous  amongst  the  nations  for 
their  attachment  to  his  person,  and  for  their  zeal  in  all  ecclesi- 
astical matters.  Nor  was  this  enthusiasm  confined  to  the 
Forest  States,  which  might  be  said  to  have  been  too  far 
removed  from  the  world  to  perceive  the  real  corruption  of 
the  Church,  but  even  Zurich  and  Bern,  the  very  centres  of  the 
subsequent  agitation,  prided  themselves  upon  their  well-known 
devotion  to  Rome.  Indeed,  had  there  been  less  religious  zeal 
and  more  indifference  in  Switzerland,  the  Reformation  would 
not  have  left  those  deplorable  scars  upon  the  national  life 
which  are  still  noticeable  to-day. 

Why  was  it  that  at  least  one-half  of  those  to  whom  the 
Pope  had  awarded  the  title  of  "  Defenders  of  the  Liberty  of  the 
Church,"  should  think  themselves  constrained  to  change  from 
partisans  into  adversaries  of  the  Papal  cause? 

In  Switzerland,  more  than  elsewhere,  the  Reformation  was 
affected  by  all  manner  of  secular  considerations,  by  political 
questions  and  administrative  jealousies,  for,  in  spite  of  their 
deeply  religious  temperament,  the  Swiss  were  very  jealous  of 
any  ecclesiastical  interference  in  their  political  affairs.  The 
secular  authorities  in  the  various  States  were  always  seeking 
to  acquire  control  over  the  clergy  in  their  midst,  and  to  con- 
fine them  to  purely  ecclesiastical  matters.  This  tendency 
is  seen  in  a  number  of  ordinances  passed  by  different 
States,  and  in  the  famous  Pfaffenbrief  which  concerned 
the  Federation  at  large.  To  this  day  the  parishes  of  Canton 
Uri,  for  example,  distinctly  Ultramontane  thougfy  they  be, 
retain  the  right  of  electing  their  own  priests,  in  accordance 
with  a  decree  of  Pope  Julius  II.  No  doubt,  therefore,  the 
readiness  of  certain  portions  of  the  Swiss  people  to  take  up 
the  ideas  of  the  Reformation,  must  be  ascribed  in  part  to  this 


254  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

desire  of  the  secular  authorities  to  exercise  supervision  over 
ecclesiastical  affairs  in  their  districts. 

But  there  were  also  moral  considerations.  During  the  Italian 
campaigns  the  governments  of  the  Confederated  States  had 
been  in  constant  communication  with  Papal  emissaries.  In 
the  course  of  these  negotiations  they  had  become  acquain- 
ted with  the  worldly  ambitions,  -the  broken  pledges,  and  the 
intrigues  of  the  Holy  Father  ;  they  were  shocked  to  find  his 
conduct  so  inconsistent  with  his  sacred  functions.  They  had 
supposed  him  engaged  at  most  in  a  righteous  struggle  for  his 
spiritual  supremacy,  and  now  they  found  that  he  was  pursuing 
political  plans,  without  regard  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
nations  involved.  But  more  than  this,  the  Swiss  mercenary 
troops  had  penetrated  far  into  the  Papal  States,  and  had  not 
been  edified  by  what  they  saw  and  heard.  They  brought  back 
strange  stories  of  the  doings  at  Rome,  of  the  corruption  in 
high  places,  and  the  general  profligacy  so  much  at  variance 
with  the  sanctity  of  the  place.  Returning  to  their  homes, 
they  carried  with  them  the  vices  and  diseases  they  had  con- 
tracted in  the  Papal  service ;  they  became  idle  vagabonds, 
unwilling  to  work,  and  unfit  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  citizenship. 
No  wonder  that  a  cry  of  indignation  arose  from  the  Confedera- 
tion ;  that  honest  men  tried  to  put  down  the  mercenary  system, 
and  began  to  look  upon  the  Papal  emissaries,  who  besieged 
the  authorities  for  fresh  levies  of  men,  as  the  enemies  of  their 
country. 

The  time  came  when  all  true  patriots  were  constrained  to 
combat  the  influence  of  the  Pope  as  fatal  to  the  welfare  of 
their  native  land. 

Thus  was  the  traditional  veneration  of  the  Swiss  undermined, 
and  their  old-time  allegiance  loosened.  When  the  public  con- 
science had  been  aroused  by  these  evils,  and  public  opinion 
had  turned  against  Papal  interference,  then  came  the  man  who 
should  inaugurate  the  movement  of  religious  emancipation. 
But  observe  how  the  career  of  Ulrich  Zwingli  illustrates  the 
peculiar  political  character  of  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland, 


THE  RISE   OF  THE  REFORMATION.  255 

to  which  reference  has  been  made  above.  Zwingli  began  his 
work  as  a  political  reformer ;  his  first  efforts  were  directed 
against  political  abuses,  and  some  of  his  noblest  words  were 
spoken  in  the  cause  of  a  distinct  national  life,  free  from  foreign 
interference.  It  was  not  until  he  found  all  his  exertions  in 
this  field  baffled  by  ecclesiastical  intrigues,  until  he  discovered 
that  the  peculiar  conditions,  which  then  obtained  in  Christen- 
dom, made  it  impossible  to  purify  politics  without  first  reform- 
ing the  Church,  that  he  began  to  attack  certain  doctrines  of 
religion  and  to  set  up  a  theological  system  of  his  own. 

Zwingli  was  a  Reformer  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  word. 
He  conceived  his  mission  to  be  nothing  less  than  the  complete 
political,  religious,  and  moral  regeneration  of  Switzerland;  so 
that  whatever  may  be  the  reader's  particular  estimate  of  the 
religious  teachings  which  he  introduced,  no  one  can  deny  him 
an  honorable  position  amongst  the  great-hearted  and  fearless 
seekers  after  the  truth. 

Ulrich  Zwingli  was  born  in  1484,  at  the  village  of  Wildhaus, 
in  the  ancient  County  of  Toggenburg,  now  forming  part  of  the 
Canton  of  St.  Gallen.  A  rude,  wooden  chalet,  blackened  with 
age,  is  still  shown  as  the  house  where  he  first  saw  light. 
His  family  were  counted  amongst  the  best  in  those  parts,  his 
father  being  chief  magistrate  of  the  parish.  He  received  an 
education  which  was  remarkable  for  its  comprehensiveness. 
At  an  early  age,  young  Zwingli  was  sent  to  school  in  Basel  and 
Bern,  from  whence,  showing  especial  aptitude  for  the  study  of 
the  ancient  classics,  he  was  allowed  to  perfect  himself  at  the 
University  of  Vienna.  During  his  two-years'  stay  at  this  seat 
of  learning,  he  distinguished  himself  in  the  studies  embraced 
by  the  designation  of  the  humanities,  and  by  his  talent  for 
eloquent  debate.  Returning  to  Switzerland,  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  a  Latin  teacher,  in  the  school  of  St.  Martin,  at  Basel, 
making  the  acquaintance  of  the  famous  Glareanus,  at  the  Uni- 
versity in  that  city,  and  of  a  certain  Thomas  Wyttenbach,  of 
Bienne,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  direct  his  atten- 
tion to  theological  studies.  In  1506,  in  his  twenty-second 


256          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

year,  Zwingli  was  chosen  parish  priest  of  Glarus,  and  at  the 
outset  of  his  ecclesiastical  career,  had  a  foretaste  of  the 
corruption  which  obtained  in  the  church ;  for  he  found  himself 
obliged  to  pay  one  hundred  florins  to  the  holder  of  the  living, 
before  he  could  take  possession.  During  the  ten  years  of  his 
sojourn  at  Glarus,  Zwingli  turned  to  his  studies  with  renewed 
zest.  In  his  search  after  the  truth,  he  not  only  drank  deeply 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  making  himself  familiar  with  the 
Greek  and  Latin  authors,  with  the  Bible,  and  with  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church;  but  he  also  kept  up  a  correspondence  with  such 
contemporary  scholars  as  Glareanus,  Mykonius,  Vadianus,  and 
later  with  the  great  Erasmus  himself.  He  was  laying  the 
foundation  of  his  education  deep  and  broad. 

But  to  the  erudition  of  the  closeted  student  he  joined  quali- 
ties which  savants  generally  lack.  Zwingli  was  a  true  man 
of  the  people,  both  in  manner  and  speech,  a  believer  in  popu- 
lar sovereignty,  an  out-and-out  democrat.  A  great  part  of  the 
success  which  attended  his  sermons  was  due  to  his  genial 
mother-wit,  born  of  his  intimate  participation  in  the  life  of  the 
humble  people. 

Nor  was  his  activity  confined  to  his  parish.  In  the  capa- 
city of  army  chaplain,  he  twice  accompanied  contingents  of 
troops  from  Glarus,  across  the  Alps  into  Italy.  In  fact,  his 
graphic  account  of  the  expedition  to  Pavia  which  he  sent  to 
his  friend  Vadianus,  is  our  principal  authority  for  that  event. 
And  to  show  how  unshaken  his  allegiance  to  the  Church  still 
was  at  this  time,  it  will  suffice  to  recall  his  expression  when  he 
calls  Rome  "the  common  mother  of  all  Christian  Believers." 
A  few  days  before  the  disastrous  battle  of  Marignano  he 
delivered  a  speech  to  the  soldiery,  warning  them  against  the 
consequences  of  the  disorders  which  had  broken  out  amongst 
them.  So  prominent  was  the  part  he  played  in  these  Italian 
campaigns,  and  so  conspicuous  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  Papal 
cause,  that  the  attention  of  the  Pope  was  finally  directed  to 
him,  probably  by  Matthaus  Schinner,  the  Swiss  Cardinal. 
The  Papal  Legate  was  sent  to  assure  Zwingli  of  his  master's 


THE  RISE   OF  THE  REFORMATION.  257 

special  favor,  and  to  reward  him  by  an  appointment  to  the 
grade  of  Papal  Court  Chaplain,  with  a  yearly  allowance,  which 
was  extremely  welcome  to  the  poor  parish  priest.  In  this  gift 
we  must  not  see  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Pope  to  bribe 
Zwingli  into  silence,  for  the  latter  had  not  yet  begun  to  attack 
the  tenets  of  the  Church.  But  in  the  light  of  his  subsequent 
career,  one  cannot  help  remarking  the  irony  of  the  transaction, 
especially  when  we  take  into  consideration  that  Zwingli  used 
the  money  thus  obtained  for  the  purchase  of  books  which  were 
to  help  him  eventually  to  throw  off  his  allegiance  to  the  Pope. 

For  the  present,  Zwingli's  attention  was  directed  toward  the 
political  abuses  which  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  mercenary 
system.  Even  a  little  place  like  Glarus  was  at  that  time  the 
rendezvous  of  intriguing  ambassadors  from  the  great  powers, 
who  vied  with  each  other  in  bribing  the  authorities  to  lend 
them  troops.  Zwingli's  outspoken  condemnation  of  these 
evils  soon  brought  him  into  conflict  with  the  ruling  faction  in 
Glarus,  and,  although  he  had  gathered  about  himself  a  band  of 
devoted  parishioners,  he  determined  to  accept  an  invitation 
which  came  to  him  from  Einsiedeln,  to  act  as  parish  priest  of 
that  pilgrimage  town.  It  seems  almost  like  malicious  fate 
that  the  very  place  which  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  the  most 
celebrated  place  of  pilgrimage  in  Switzerland,  should  have 
called  the  man  who  was  later  foremost  in  denouncing  every- 
thing which  had  to  do  with  the  veneration  of  saints. 

It  is  never  an  easy  matter  to  determine,  with  anything  like 
precision,  the  turning-point  in  a  man's  life,  but  it  would  seem 
that  this  period  of  cloistered  retirement  determined  the  partic- 
ular bent  which  Zwingli's  subsequent  life  should  take.  In  his 
hours  of  study  in  the  monastery  library  he  seems  to  have 
turned  his  thoughts  more  and  more  upon  religious  matters,  he 
began  to  take  the  Bible  as  a  text-book,  and,  applying  to  it  the 
same  methods  of  research  which  he  had  learned  in  connection 
with  his  studies  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  he  saw,  for  the 
first  time,  how  far  the  Church  of  his  day  had  departed  from 
the  simple  word  of  the  text.  His  sermons  began  to  attract 


258          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

attention,  and  his  reputation  to  spread  abroad  as  a  scholar  and 
Churchman  of  the  newer  school ;  but,  as  yet,  no  word  of  his 
betrayed  any  hostility  toward  the  Church,  of  which  he 
remained  a  devoted  follower.  After  two  years  at  Einsiedeln, 
he  was  elected  Rector  of  the  Minster  (Grossmunster),  at 
Zurich,  where  his  career  as  a  religious  Reformer  really  began. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ZWINGLI    IN    ZURICH. 

ON  New  Year's  Day,  1519,  Zwingli  delivered  his  first  ser- 
mon in  the  Grossmiinster  at  Zurich,  taking  the  simple 
text  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  in  his  hand,  and  expounding  it 
verse  by  verse,  chapter  by  chapter,  before  a  deeply  moved 
congregation.  He  did  not,  as  yet,  denounce  the  practices  of 
the  Church  which  were  inconsistent  with  this  rendering,  but 
left  his  hearers  to  form  their  own  opinion  in  regard  to  these 
matters.  As  usual  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  religious 
questions  in  his  exhortations.  He  laid  bare  before  the  aston- 
ished multitudes,  which  flocked  to  hear  his  impassioned  ora- 
tory, the  political  degradation  into  which  they  had  sunk 
through  their  own  discord  and  through  foreign  interference. 

Just  at  this  time,  his  words  acquired  a  special  significance, 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  Switzerland  had  once  more  been 
suddenly  drawn  into  the  stream  of  international  politics  by  the 
struggle  between  Francis  I.,  of  France,  and  Charles  I.,  of 
Spain,  for  the  vacant  throne  of  the  German  Empire.  Both 
princes  set  a  great  value  upon  the  support  of  the  Swiss  mer- 
cenaries, and  the  usual  flatteries  and  briberies  were  set  in 
motion,  with  the  usual  demoralizing  results.  Zwingli  set  his 
face  sternly  against  this  procedure,  and  it  was  probably  his 
influence  which  kept  Zurich  from  joining  the  twelve  other 
States  in  an  alliance  with  Francis  I.  But  later,  as  though 
to  complicate  matters,  the  Pope,  becoming  embroiled  in  this 
quarrel  for  the  German  throne,  applied  to  Zurich  for  troops. 
Cardinal  Schinner,  of  course,  was  in  favor  of  granting  this 
request,  but  Zwingli  was  for  putting  an  end  to  all  foreign 

259 


260  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

enterprises,  whatever  their  object  might  be.  In  the  end  hia 
protestations  were  overruled.  Zurich  sent  troops  into  Italy, 
which,  after  advancing  successfully  as  far  as  Piacenza,  were 
recalled  upon  the  death  of  the  Pope.  The  twelve  other  States 
of  the  Confederation  reproached  Zurich  for  her  isolated  con- 
duct, and  taunted  her  with  being  too  papistical,  a  reproach 
which  seems  singular  enough  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events.  A  terrible  defeat  at  Bicocca  of  the  troops  of  the 
twelve  States,  in  league  with  the  French  and  fighting  against 
the  German  imperial  troops,  put  an  end  to  this  last  and  disas- 
trous participation  of  Switzerland  in  European  politics. 

While  the  defeat  of  Bicocca  was  still  in  everybody's  minds, 
and  the  sorrow  and  shame  which  it  had  occasioned  still  lay 
like  a  pall  upon  the  public  mind  of  Switzerland,  Zwingli  broke 
the  humiliating  silence  by  an  impassioned  appeal,  addressed  to 
the  Landsgemeinde  of  Schwiz,  just  then  in  session.  After  all 
these  years,  his  eloquent  words  still  ring  with  the  clear  note  of 
patriotic  exaltation  and  are  stamped  with  the  indelible  mark  of 
greatness. 

"Our  forefathers,"  he  wrote,  "did  not  slay  fellow  Chris- 
tians for  pay,  but  fought  for  liberty  only,  that  their  bodies  and 
lives,  their  wives  and  children,  might  not  be  in  miserable  subjec- 
tion to  a  wanton  nobility.  .  .  .  Therefore  God  gave  them 
ever  the  victory  and  increased  their  honors  and  possessions.  . 

.  .  In  our  own  wars  we  have  always  been  victorious,  in 
foreign  ones  often  defeated."  With  great  vigor  and  richness 
of  illustration,  Zwingli  then  proceeded  to  describe  the  evil 
results  of  the  mercenary  system ;  he  insisted  upon  the  danger 
of  God's  wrath,  the  necessary  suppression  of  justice  in  times  of 
war,  and  the  demoralization  occasioned  by  the  bribery  of 
foreigners ;  he  warned  them  against  the  introduction  of  new 
vices,  the  sowing  of  discord  and  hatred  amongst  the  Confeder- 
ates, and  finally  predicted  that,  unless  a  change  was  made,  the 
Swiss  would  end  by  falling  completely  into  the  power  of 
foreigners.  "Therefore,"  he  cried  in  a  closing  appeal,  with  an 
exaggeration  of  epithet  which  betrayed  the  strength  of  his 


ZWINGLI  IN  ZURICH.  261 

feelings,  "I  exhort  you,  pious,  wise,  true,  beloved,  and  hon- 
orable men  of  Schwiz,  by  the  agony  and  salvation  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord,  by  the  honor  which  Almighty  God  has 
sh'own  our  pious  forefathers,  by  the  sweat  and  evil  times  they 
endured  for  the  sake  of  our  freedom  —  beware  of  the  pay  of 
foreign  masters  which  would  destroy  us,  and  do  this  now, 
while  there  is  yet  time,  and  do  not  follow  those  who  say  it 
cannot  be  done ! "* 

These  ringing  words  had  only  a  momentary  effect  upon  the 
Landsgemeinde  of  Schwiz.  After  passing  resolutions  against 
the  mercenary  system,  this  body  found  it  impossible  to  enforce 
them,  and  things  returned  into  the  old  ruts. 

Rebuffed  and  beaten  at  every  point,  discouraged,  and  doubt- 
less somewhat  embittered  by  his  repeated  failures  as  a  politi- 
cal Reformer,  Zwingli  became  more  radical  in  his  religious 
teachings.  He  rejected  the  Papal  pension,  which  had  been 
awarded  to  him  for  his  services  in  the  Italian  campaign,  and  pre- 
pared to  denounce  openly  those  practices  which  he  conceived 
to  be  at  variance  with  Holy  Writ.  The  opportunity  for  the 
first  attack  came  in  1522.  Certain  citizens  of  Zurich,  having 
reached  the  conclusion,  from  Zwingli's  sermons,  that  they  were 
no  longer  under  obligations  to  keep  the  Lenten  fasts,  had  been 
punished  by  the  city  authorities  for  this  misdemeanor,  accord- 
ing to  the  unfortunate  custom  of  secular  interference  in  relig- 
ious matters  which  characterized  the  age.  Thereupon, 
Zwingli  took  up  their  defence  in  public,  in  spite  of  the  expos- 
tulations which  came  from  his  ecclesiastical  superior,  the 
Bishop  of  Constance,  from  the  Canons  of  the  Minster,  and 
the  City  Council.  Communications  passed  between  the  City 
Council  and  the  Bishop,  the  former  being  desirous  of  a.  full 
explanation  as  to  the  conduct  to  be  observed  in  Church  cere- 
monies. The  Bishop  replied  that,  although  certain  customs 
which  were  contrary  to  Holy  Writ  might  have  crept  into  com- 
mon practice,  they  should  still  be  observed,  because  a  common 
error  must  make  them  right.  Zwingli,  on  his  side,  now  boldly 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch.    p.  301. 


262          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

claimed  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  advocated 
the  marriage  of  priests.  Finally,  in  order  to  test  these  and 
other  questions,  which  now  arose  on  every  hand,  the  City 
Council  of  Zurich,  in  1523,  summoned  the  clergy  of  the  state 
to  a  public  disputation. 

On  this  occasion,  Zwingli  presented  sixty-seven  articles, 
which  he  had  drawn  up  for  discussion,  as  representing  the  sum 
of  his  teachings.  Bible  in  hand,  he  developed  with  great  skill 
the  arguments  in  favor  of  these  articles,  astounding  his  hearers 
by  the  familiarity  which  he  displayed  with  the  text  of  the 
Bible,  a  work  at  that  time  almost  forgotten  and  unused.  The 
Bishop  of  Constance  had  sent  his  Vicar  General  to  supervise 
the  discussion,  and  to  act  as  arbitrator  in  the  proceedings.  At 
first,  he  contented  himself  with  denying  the  competence  of  this 
assembly  to  determine  questions  of  doctrine  which  ought  to 
come  before  a  Council  of  all  Christendom;  but  later,  having 
allowed  himself  to  be  enticed  into  arguing  upon  the  articles  of 
themselves,  he  fell  an  easy  prey  to  Zwingli's  superior  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible.  Deeply  moved  by  the  brilliant  manner  in 
which  the  Reformer  had  refuted  the  arguments  directed 
against  his  new  teachings,  the  City  Council  decreed  that  the 
clergy  of  the  state  should  avoid  everything  which  could  not  be 
proved  and  demonstrated  by  the  text  of  the  Bible. 

The  first  official  step  in  the  Swiss  Reformation  had  now 
been  taken ;  henceforth  the  successive  stages  of  the  movement 
followed  each  other  in  uninterrupted  sequence.  In  the  same 
year  another  convocation  decreed  the  abolition  of  images. 
Six  months  later,  these  were  carefully  removed  from  the 
churches  and  public  places.  Then  came  the  suppression  of 
the  monasteries  within  the  whole  territory  subject  to  Zurich, 
provision  being  made  for  the  inmates,  and  the  buildings  revert- 
ing to  the  State,  to  be  used  henceforth  as  schools,  poor-houses 
and  hospitals. 

Zwingli  was  not  a  man  of  half  measures ;  he  meditated  noth- 
ing short  of  a  complete  overthrow  of  the  existing  ecclesiastical 
forms  and  the  substitution  of  a  new  system  based  upon  the 


ZWINGLI  IN  ZURICH.  263 

simple  word  of  God.  Having  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
celebration  of  the  Mass,  as  then  practiced,  was  contrary  to 
that  authority,  he  did  not  rest  until  it  was  swept  away,  and  the 
so-called  reformed  communion  introduced. 

Great  severity  was  exercised  against  the  Catholics  who  per- 
sisted in  clinging  to  their  own  service.  At  first,  they  were 
allowed  to  go  outside  of  Zurich  territory  to  perform  their 
devotions,  but  finally,  even  this  scant  privilege  was  withdrawn 
from  them. 

History  repeats  itself.  The  reaction  is  equal  to  the  original 
impulse.  The  greater  the  injustices  under  which  one  genera- 
tion labors,  the  greater  the  excesses  of  the  triumphant  popu- 
lace in  the  next.  It  seems  to  be  the  common  fate  of  all 
reformers  to  overbalance  themselves  as  soon  as  they  have 
reached  the  climax  of  their  activity.  Like  Savanarola,  like 
many  another  religious  enthusiast,  Zwingli  had  started  with  a 
noble  aspiration  after  freedom,  and  a  holy  abhorrence  of  the 
existing  order.  He  ended  by  erecting  a  theocratic  system,  no 
whit  less  tryannical  than  the  hierarchy  he  had  overturned. 
The  world,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  not  ripe  for  freedom  of 
thought,  toward  which  we  are  rapidly  making  in  the  nine- 
teenth. One  doctrine  was  supposed  to  have  the  upper  hand  in 
those  days,  and  all  the  others  were  obliged  to  remain  in  abey- 
ance. Zwingli  conceived  himself  to  be  inspired  like  the  pro- 
phets of  the  Old  Testament,  to  preach  a  new  saying  to  a 
corrupt  generation.  He  imagined  himself  the  spiritual  head 
and  adviser  of  a  theocratic  state,  in  which  religion  and  politics 
should  both  conform  to  the  precepts  of  the  Bible,  and  thus 
become  identical. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    GROWTH    OF    THE    REFORMATION. 

FROM  Ziirich  the  new  teachings  spread  to  the  other  states 
of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  to  meet  there  with  varying 
fortunes.  In  some,  they  were  welcomed  by  a  population,  eager 
for  religious  innovations;  in  others,  they  gave  rise  to  long- 
protracted,  confessional  struggles ;  and  in  others  again,  they 
encountered  so  determined  an  opposition  that  they  were 
unable  to  gain  even  momentary  footing.  In  St.  Gallen,  the 
influence  of  Zwingli's  friend,  Joachim  von  Watt,  better  known 
under  his  Latinized  name  of  Vadianus,  was  paramount.  This 
eminent  scholar,  having  been  appointed  Biirgermeister,  carried 
his  state  completely  over  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation.  In 
the  Thurgau,  in  Glarus,  and  Graubiinden,  the  efforts  of  the 
new  teachers  were  more  and  more  successful.  In .  Basel,  the 
two  parties  were  pretty  evenly  divided.  The  strife  was  espe- 
cially bitter  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  that  city  as  the 
seat  of  a  university  and  the  home  of  a  printing-press.  The 
great  Dutch  theologian,  Erasmus,  who  had  made  Basel  his 
place  of  residence,  although  advocating  greater  freedom  from 
tradition,  recoiled  from  the  practical  reforms  which  the  new 
teachings  enjoined;  his  fastidious  taste  as  a  student  was 
shocked  at  the  essentially  popular  turn  which  the  movement 
began  to  take,  and  his  influence  was  finally  cast  against  the 
progress  of  the  Reformation. 

In  Bern,  the  new  teachings  had  many  obstacles  to  surmount, 
but  in  the  end  were  triumphant  through  the  ceaseless  activity 
of  enthusiastic  partisans.  The  real  leader  was  Berchtold  Hal- 
ler,  but  his  efforts  were  strongly  seconded  by  a  certain  Nicho- 

264 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  REFORMATION.        265 

las  Manuel,  who  satirized  the  abuses  of  the  Church  and  the 
vices  of  the  clergy  in  stinging  verses. 

The  authorities  of  Fribourg  and  Solothurn  promptly  stamped 
out  the  first  manifestations  of  the  Reformation  within  their 
districts,  while,  in  the  Forest  States,  the  new  doctrines  were 
viewed  with  abhorrence.  In  truth,  the  simple  mountaineers, 
far  removed  from  the  demoralizing  influences  of  the  world, 
were  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  necessity  for  a  change,  or  to 
appreciate  the  significance  of  the  movement.  It  seemed  to 
them  to  be  a  wanton  attack,  not  only  upon  their  religious  faith, 
but  also  upon  the  memory  of  their  ancestors.  The  whole 
course  of  their  glorious  history,  every  act  of  their  forefathers, 
was  inextricably  interwoven  with  the  doctrines  of  their  relig- 
ion. Every  patriotic  feast  was  crowned  with  a  religious  obser- 
vance, on  every  battle-field  stood  a  chapel  to  which  they  made 
solemn  pilgrimages  at  stated  times.  They  could  not  conceive 
of  a  change  in  their  religious  habits  which  did  not  desecrate 
the  past  and  imperil  the  future.  They  were  unfortunately 
also  influenced  by  purely  worldly  considerations,  questions  of 
financial  and  political  interests.  The  Forest  States  were,  to 
a  great  extent,  dependent  upon  the  mercenary  system  as  an 
opening  for  their  young  men ;  they  counted  as  much  upon  the 
annual  shower  of  pensions  from  abroad  as  upon  the  harvests 
from  their  fields,  and  when  they  found  the  movement  of 
the  Reformation  opposing  this  system,  self-interest  dictated 
hostility. 

Indeed,  both  parties  were  eager  for  the  strife.  First  Bern 
and  Zurich  joined  hands  in  a  separate  alliance,  and  then  the 
five  Catholic  states  of  Uri,  Schwiz,  Unterwalden,  Luzern,  and 
Zug  united  in  a  separate  league,  and  entered  into  a  compact 
with  Austria. 

Zvvingli  desired  war,  mainly  for  two  reasons.  He  saw  that 
the  Catholics  were  unprepared,  and  thought  the  present  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  win  over  the  whole  of  Switzerland  by 
a  bold  stroke ;  secondly,  he  imagined,  erroneously,  as  the  future 
proved,  that  the  populations  of  the  five  states  were  secretly  in 


266  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

sympathy  with  his  views,  and  were  only  kept  in  submission  by 
the  severity  of  the  local  authorities. 

The  antagonism  created  by  religious  differences  had  free 
play  in  the  common  subject  lands  of  the  Aargau  and  Thurgau. 
Which  of  the  two  parties  should  control  these  districts,  and 
thus  obtain  the  balance  of  power?  That  was  the  question 
which  finally  precipitated  an  armed  conflict.  Mutual  outrages 
and  indignities  first  made  all  attempts  to  arrive  at  a  reasonable 
understanding  fruitless,  and  then  Ziirich  launched  forth  a  dec- 
laration of  war.  Accompanied  by  Zwingli,  the  troops  of  this 
city  disposed  themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  to  overpower 
the  enemy  at  their  first  move.  The  Zurich  army  was  imbued 
with  the  Reformer's  principles ;  neither  oaths  were  heard  nor 
games  of 'chance  played  in  the  camp.  The  same  rigid  disci- 
pline prevailed  as  amongst  the  Puritan  followers  of  Cromwell. 

When  both  armies  were  already  standing  facing  each  other, 
an  encounter  was  averted,  at  the  last  moment,  by  the  interven- 
tion of  Aebli,  the  Landammann  of  Glarus,  and  an  armistice 
was  established.  Zwingli  did  not  disguise  his  disappointment, 
for  he  insisted  that  an  opportunity  had  been  lost  which  would 
never  return ;  the  Catholic  States  would  perfect  their  arma- 
ments and  would  return  to  the  charge. 

A  peace  was  declared  at  Kappel,  which  guaranteed  religious 
liberty,  according  to  the  conception  of  that  term  in  the  i6th 
century ;  i.  e.,  the  various  States  could  determine  for  themselves 
what  religious  form  should  obtain  within  their  jurisdiction,  and 
in  the  common  subject  lands  every  parish  could  choose  for 
itself.  There  was  no  question  of  individual  liberty,  for  every 
man  became  Catholic  or  Protestant,  according  to  the  dictation 
of  the  majority  in  the  State  or  parish  which  he  inhabited, 
unless  he  chose  to  sacrifice  house  and  home,  and  emigrate 
to  some  district  where  his  particular  faith  was  practised. 

After  the  conclusion  of  this  peace,  Zwingli  sought  to  extend 
the  scope  of  his  operations  outside  the  narrow  limit  of  Switzer- 
land, to  enter  the  arena  of  international  politics.  He  conceived 
the  idea  of  bringing  Swabia  and  Elsass,  even  Italy,  within  the 


THE   GROWTH  OF  THE  REFORMATION.         267 

sphere  of  his  influence,  and  of  then  effecting  a  connection  with 
the  German  Protestants,  under  Luther.  He  went  so  far  as  to 
propose  an  alliance  with  Francis  I.  of  France,  in  contradiction 
to  all  the  political  principles  which  he  had  preached  for  so 
many  years  to  his  fellow-countrymen,  when  he  had  urged  them 
to  shake  off  foreign  alliances,  and  to  put  an  end  to  foreign 
enterprises.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  not  one  of  these 
ambitious  schemes  succeeded.  Every  effort  to  force  the  move- 
ment, of  which  he  was  the  leader,  into  foreign  fields,  failed  sig- 
nally, and  even  his  interview  with  Luther,  from  which  he 
expected  so  much,  instead  of  resulting  in  a  cordial  plan  for 
co-operation,  only  produced  an  open  feud  between  the  two 
Reformers.  In  truth,  there  were  radical  differences  between 
the  teachings  of  the  two  men,  especially  as  regards  the  doc- 
trine of  the  communion.  In  this,  and  in  other  respects,  Luther 
was  more  conservative  than  Zwingli,  who  sought  to  revolution- 
ize the  whole  existence  of  man,  sweeping  out  of  his  daily  life 
everything  which  was  not  founded  upon  the  Bible.  At  first, 
there  had  been  only  an  exchange  of  views  by  letter,  but,  in 
1529,  the  Landgrave  Philip,  of  Hessen,  invited  the  two  leaders 
to  a  conference  in  his  castle,  at  Marburg.  At  the  outset  of 
this  memorable  meeting,  Luther  demanded  the  complete  sub- 
mission of  the  Swiss  Protestants  to  his  own  movement.  This 
attitude  was  not  likely  to  facilitate  an  understanding  with  a 
man  of  Zwingli's  independent  temperament,  but  when  the  two 
Reformers  broached  the  cardinal  point,  the  doctrine  of  the 
Communion,  and  were  unable  to  agree  upon  a  common  inter- 
pretation, the  interview  degenerated  into  a  vulgar  quarrel ;  the 
learned  doctors  lost  their  tempers,  Luther  calling  Zwingli  a 
heretic,  and  Zwingli  taunting  Luther  with  inability  to  answer 
his  arguments.  A  few  meaningless  articles  were  drawn  up, 
probably  to  hide  the  complete  failure  of  the  negotiations,  but 
the  two  men  parted  in  anger.  "  You  have  another  spirit  from 
us,"  said  Luther,  and  when  Zwingli  offered  him  his  hand  in 
parting,  he  refused  to  take  it. l 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch,  p.  330. 


268  THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Discouraged  by  this  failure,  Zwingli  went  home,  to  pursue 
his  daily  avocations  at  the  minster  in  Zurich. 

But,  in  the  meantime,  the  strife  between  the  Catholic  and 
Protestant  States  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  had  not  been  set- 
tled by  the  Peace  of  Kappel,  for  both  sides  soon  discovered  dif- 
ferent interpretations  of  contested  articles.  The  spirit  of 
confessional  hatred  was  not  slow  in  finding  occasion  to  pit  the 
two  parties  against  each  other.  The  signal  for  the  outbreak 
was  a  trifling  event,  which  had,  in  reality,  nothing  to  do  with 
religious  matters  at  all.  A  certain  Italian  adventurer,  calling 
himself  Giovanni  Giacomo  Medici,  was  making  incursions  into 
Graubiinden,  from  his  stronghold  at  Musso,  on  the  lake  of  Como, 
where  a  few  remains  still  attest  the  former  presence  of  a  cas- 
tle. The  harassed  men  of  Graubiinden  applied  to  the  Confed- 
erates for  help,  but  the  Catholic  States,  for  some  reason,  did 
not  respond  to  this  appeal,  and  Zurich  alone  was  left  to  send 
the  desired  help.  From  this  circumstance,  the  suspicion  got 
abroad  in  Zurich,  that  the  conduct  of  the  Italian  soldier  was 
the  result  of  a  preconcerted  plan  with  the  Catholic  States,  and 
was  to  form  the  prelude  to  a  general  systematic  attack  upon 
the  Protestant  States.  This  suspicion  was  perfectly  unfounded, 
but  was  sufficient,  in  the  heated  condition  of  the  public  mind, 
to  lead  to  disastrous  results.  Zurich  instituted  a  blockade  of 
provisions  against  the  Forest  Cantons,  much  to  Zwingli's  dis- 
pleasure, be  it  said,  and  in  other  ways  drove  the  Five  States  to 
exasperation. 

There  enter  into  the  lives  of  many  great  men  moments  of 
excessive  melancholy,  of  unaccountable  depression,  when  they 
give  voice  to  dire  forebodings  and  prophecies,  and  bewail  the 
apparent  failure  of  their  life's  work.  It  would  seem  that 
Zwingli  was  now  assailed  by  dark  thoughts  of  this  kind. 
From  the  pulpit,  he  uttered  words  of  warning  to  the  men  of 
Zurich  for  their  lenient  conduct  toward  the  Five  Catholic 
States;  he  predicted  that  the  Protestant  cause  would  sustain  a 
terrible  defeat,  unless  they  pursued  a  different  policy ;  in  an 
access  of  despair  he  foretold  his  own  death  and  that  of  many 


THE    GROWTH  OF  THE  REFORMATION.         269 

of  his  friends ;  and  finally  offered  to  resign  his  position,  and 
retire  from  public  life. 

In  point  of  fact,  he  need  not  have  estimated  his  work  so  low, 
for  the  results  he  had  obtained  were  in  every  way  marvellous. 
In  a  few  years  he  had  transformed  Zurich  from  a  gay,  rollick- 
ing city,  dependent  upon  foreign  pensions  and  the  good  will  of 
the  Pope,  into  a  sober,  industrious  place,  free  from  the  bribes 
of  mercenary  captains.  And  this  he  had  accomplished  by 
appealing  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  rather  than  to  the  fana- 
ticism which  so  largely  prevailed  in  his  time.  His  character 
had  none  of  the  austere,  prim,  and  long-faced  piety  which  dis- 
tinguished some  of  the  other  Reformers  and  their  followers. 
To  the  last,  he  remained  a  genial  favorite  of  the  people.  In 
the  early  part  of  his  career,  he  had  married  a  widow,  Anna 
Reinhard,  who  bore  him  four  children,  and  this  fact,  coupled 
with  many  homely  accomplishments,  not  to  speak  of  some 
very  pronounced  but  very  human  failings,  served  to  increase 
his  popularity  with  all  his  fellow  citizens. 

The  cruel  and  unjust  blockade  of  provisions,  instituted  by 
Zurich  against  the  Five  Catholic  States,  was  the  prelude  to 
another  armed  conflict.  This  time  again,  it  was  in  the  region 
of  Kappel  that  the  two  armies  met,  but  the  issue  of  the  com- 
bat was  reversed,  for,  after  several  hours'  fighting,  a  Captain  of 
Uri  succeeded  in  executing  a  flank  movement  upon  the  Zurich 
army,  which  decided  the  battle  in  favor  of  the  Five  States. 
Zwingli  had,  as  usual,  accompanied  the  troops,  in  his  capacity 
of  Chaplain,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  city  author- 
ities, who  not  only  feared  for  his  life,  but  also  dreaded  the 
exasperating  effect  which  his  presence  upon  the  battle-field 
would  exert  upon  the  enemy.  In  the  last  mele"e  he  was 
struck  down,  while  tending  the  wounded.  When  the  strife 
was  over,  he  was  found  by  some  stragglers,  who,  seeing  that 
he  was  still  breathing,  but  not  recognizing  him,  asked  if  he 
desired  to  confess  to  a  priest.  He  shook  his  head,  and  then  a 
soldier  pierced  him  with  his  sword.  Another  account  says, 
that  when  his  body  was  recognized,  it  was  torn  to  pieces  by  a 


270  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

furious  multitude,  and  the  remains  delivered  to  the  flames,  as 
that  of  an  arch-heretic  and  traitor. 

Considering  the  decisiveness  of  this  victory,  the  Catholic 
States  gave  proof  of  great  moderation  in  drawing  up  the  con- 
ditions of  peace  which  closed  the  hostilities.  The  new  state 
of  affairs  did  not  differ  from  that  which  had  preceded  the 
battle,  except  in  a  few  particulars  which  flowed  naturally  from 
the  defeat  of  the  Protestants. 

The  consternation  and  panic,  which  had  broken  out  in 
Zurich  upon  the  announcement  of  Zwingli's  death,  were  soon 
allayed  by  the  appointment  as  his  successor  of  a  man  sing- 
ularly well  suited  to  fill  this  difficult  post.  Heinrich  Bull- 
inger  was  a  man  of  tact,  of  firm  moderation,  not  easily  led  int<? 
hazardous  enterprises,  and  not  at  all  given  to  political  plans. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CALVIN    IN    GENEVA. 

AS  I  have  already  said  in  the  chapter  on  the  Valais,  none  of 
the  Cantons  which  are  now  included  in  French-speak- 
ing Switzerland,  took  any  part  whatever  in  founding  the  Swiss 
Confederation.  They  did  not  contract  alliances  with  the  Ger- 
man-speaking States,  until  the  latter  had  already  established 
their  independence  and  become  a  power  in  Europe.  Even 
Fribourg,  though  the  first  of  the  French-speaking  States  to  be 
admitted  within  the  federal  circle,  did  not  become  a  full- 
fledged  member  until  after  the  Burgundian  war  had  given  the 
Confederation  a  world-wide  reputation ;  while  Vaud,  the  Valais, 
Neuchatel,  and  Geneva  were  not  placed  upon  an  equal  footing 
with  the  other  States  until  the  beginning  of  this  century. 

Properly  speaking,  the  religious  transformation,  of  which 
Geneva  was  the  scene  during  the  sixteenth  century,  cannot 
be  called  a  Swiss  movement ;  it  was  more  truly  an  expression 
of  French  Protestantism,  since  Calvin  himself  and  his  chief 
collaborators  were  Frenchmen.  At  best,  it  was  an  independent 
agitation,  if  we  take  into  consideration  that  Geneva  was  a  free 
Republic  at  the  time.  It  is  only  because  this  Republic  has 
since  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  and 
because  the  triumph  of  Protestantism  in  Geneva  was  virtually 
assured  by  the  intervention  of  Bern,  a  Swiss  State,  that  we  are 
constrained  to  devote  a  chapter  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  that  city. 

Geneva,  the  charming  place,  which  ranks  first  in  point  of 
wealth  and  culture  amongst  the  cities  of  Switzerland,  lies  at 
the  Southern  extremity  of  Lake  Leman,  in  a  position  similar 

271 


272  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

to  Zurich  and  Luzern  with  reference  to  their  lakes.  Julius 
Caesar  speaks  of  it,  in  his  day,  as  a  frontier-town  of  the  Celtic 
tribe  of  the  Allobroges,  and  describes  how  he  used  it  as  a 
strategic  point  of  great  value  in  his  conflict  with  the  Helvetii. 
Like  many  another  stronghold,  it  passed  through  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  Roman  occupation,  the  invasion  of  the  barbarians, 
and  the  Prankish  supremacy  with  varying  fortunes,  to  emerge, 
in  the  early  middle  ages,  as  the  seat  of  a  bishopric.  There  was 
first  the  ruling  Bishops,  secondly  the  Counts  of  Geneva,  later 
superseded  by  the  Counts  of  Savoy,  and  thirdly  a  community 
of  citizens,  all  disputing  with  each  other  for  the  control  of 
affairs.  In  fact,  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  these 
three  elements  and  the  eventual  victory  of  the  citizens,  con- 
stitutes the  history  of  Geneva,  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Refor- 
mation. From  all  accounts,  the  medieval  city  must  have 
resembled  modern  Geneva  in  more  than  one  particular.  It 
was  then,  as  now,  a  commercial  centre,  admirably  situated  on 
the  confines  of  Italy,  France,  and  Germany,  with  a  cosmopoli- 
tan population  of  varied  and  interesting  qualities.  The  Gene- 
vese  type  has  always,  from  this  circumstance,  been  marked  by 
great  breadth  of  character,  being,  in  fact,  a  happy  combination 
of  French  vivacity  with  German  solidity  and  Italian  artistic 
taste. 

An  alliance  with  Fribourg,  based  upon  common  commercial 
interests,  seems  to  have  been  Geneva's  first  connection  with 
the  Swiss  Confederation,  but,  by  degrees,  this  bond  was 
strengthened,  for  the  party  of  the  people,  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  the  Bishop  and  the  Count,  began  to  look  upon  a 
closer  alliance  with  their  democratic  neighbors  as  the  surest 
road  toward  independence.  A  group  of  citizens,  nicknamed 
"The  Children  of  Geneva,"  was  formed,  under  the  leadership 
of  their  patriots  :  Philibert  Berthelier,  Bezanson  Hugues,  and 
Francois  Bonivard.  It  was  their  purpose  to  emancipate  the 
city  from  the  rule  of  the  Bishop  and  the  house  of  Savoy,  and 
to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  the  Confederates.  These 
three  leaders,  although  so  intimately  united  in  their  patriotic 


CALVIN  IN  GENEVA.  273 

task,  were  as  different  as  possible  in  temperament  and  attain- 
ments. Berthelier  seems  to  have  been  a  jovial,  popular  favor- 
ite, of  somewhat  questionable  habits,  perhaps,  but  devoted 
heart  and  soul  to  the  popular  cause ;  Hugues,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  a  sober  man  of  business,  moderate  but  firm  in  his 
demands ;  while  Bonivard,  whose  captivity  in  the  dungeon  of 
Chillon  has  been  unintentionally  immortalized  by  the  verse  of 
Byron,  belonged  to  quite  another  class  in  society.  He  was 
Prior  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Victor,  intellectual  by  education, 
passionate  and  ambitious  by  temperament.  On  the  whole,  his 
motive  in  joining  the  people's  party  was  not  so  pure  as  that  of 
his  two  colleagues,  for  we  know  that  he  was  filled  with  a  bitter 
personal  grudge  against  the  House  of  Savoy,  for  having 
deprived  him  of  certain  possessions. 

The  Republican  faction  in  Geneva  succeeded  in  inducing 
the  city  to  conclude  a  temporary  alliance  with  Fribourg  and 
Bern,  in  1519,  and  another,  for  twenty-five  years,  in  1526;  but 
not  without  the  continual  opposition  of  the  House  of  Savoy, 
from  whose  midst  the  Bishop,  as  well  as  the  Counts,  were 
drawn.  From  the  circumstance  of  their  close  union  with  the 
Swiss  Confederates,  the  popular  party  began  to  be  known  as 
Eidguenots,  which  is  the  French  vulgarized  form  of  the  Ger- 
man Eidgenossen,  or  Confederates.  Some  scholars  have  even 
supposed  that  the  name  Huguenots,  to  denote  French  Protes- 
tants at  large,  was  derived  from  this  party  designation  in 
Geneva.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  cause  of  independence  and 
that  of  Protestantism,  which,  after  the  advent  of  the  Reforma- 
tion was  allied  with  it,  would  never  have  triumphed  in  that  city 
had  not  the  Swiss  State  of  Bern  offered  armed  intervention. 

At  first,  the  House  of  Savoy  had  seemed  likely  to  crush  all 
the  aspirations  of  the  "Children  of  Geneva."  Bertheiler  was 
arrested,  and,  scorning  to  retract  what  he  had  said  or  to 
acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  Savoy,  was  decapitated  ;  Boni- 
vard,1 while  travelling  through  the  forest  of  Jorat,  on  his  way 

1  McCrackan,  W.  D.     Frangois  Bonivard,  Prisoner  of  Chillon — New  England 
Magazine,  July,  1892. 


274  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

from  Moudon  to  Lausanne,  was  caught  and  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  of  Chillon;  and,  in  1532,  Hugues,  the  last  of  the  three 
patriots,  died,  without  having  seen  the  full  realizations  of  his 
hopes.  But  these  men  had  prepared  the  ground  ;  the  religious 
agitation  which  came  with  the  Reformation  accomplished  the 
rest. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  Hugues  died,  there  came  to 
Geneva  upon  his  missionary  rounds,  a  man  named  William 
Farel,  who  had  previously  traversed  other  parts  of  French 
Switzerland,  preaching  under  the  protection  of  the  Bernese 
authorities.  This  man,  one  of  the  strangest  personages  which 
the  Reformation  produced,  was  born  in  the  south  of  France, 
but  had  been  obliged  to  flee  from  his  country,  on  account  of 
his  outspoken  advocacy  of  Protestant  doctrines.  After  long 
wanderings,  he  placed  his  services  at  the  disposal  of  Bern. 
That  city,  having  just  accepted  the  new  doctrines,  was  anxious 
to  do  some  proselyting  in  French  Switzerland,  in  order,  at  the 
same  time,  to  extend  her  political  influences.  No  insults  or  per- 
sonal outrages,  no  imprisonments  or  bodily  chastisements 
were  able  to  moderate  the  fanatical  zeal  of  Farel,  or  to 
dampen  the  fire  of  his  Southern  nature.  By  sheer  persistence 
he  won  over  the  greater  part  of  French  Switzerland,  and  then 
transferred  the  scene  of  his  operations  to  Geneva,  the  Episco- 
pal city.  He  was  almost  immediately  expelled,  in  the  midst  of 
a  popular  tumult,  but,  undaunted  by  this  hostile  reception,  and, 
in  fact,  rather  stimulated  by  the  dangers  which  he  was  obliged 
to  face,  and  which  were  his  very  breath  of  life,  he  returned 
soon  after,  with  several  followers,  under  the  special  protection 
of  Bern.  This  time  he  was  more  successful.  In  1535,  he 
induced  the  people  to  rise  in  revolt  against  the  rule  of  the 
Bishop  and  the  House  of  Savoy,  to  storm  the  churches,  and 
introduce  Protestantism. 

But,  having  accomplished  this,  the  people  still  found  them- 
selves confronted  by  the  danger  of  regular,  systematic  efforts 
on  the  part  of  Savoy  to  reconquer  the  city.  This  was  the 
state  of  affairs  when,  in  1536,  a  Bernese  army  of  10,000  men, 


CALVIN  IN  GENEVA.  275 

under  the  command  of  Hans  Franz  Nageli  came  to  their  res- 
cue, established  the  independence  of  Geneva  upon  a  firm  basis, 
and  concluded  a  new  alliance.  On  its  way,  this  army  had 
traversed  the  whole  country  of  Vaud  without  encountering 
any  opposition  worthy  of  the  name,  and  its  entry  into  Geneva 
was  a  veritable  triumph.  Returning,  the  Bernese  troops 
liberated  the  unfortunate  Bonivard  from  the  dungeon  of  Chil- 
lon,  where  he  had  suffered  six  long  years  of  captivity,  so  that 
he  could  return  to  his  city  in  the  midst  of  popular  rejoicings, 
and  live  the  remaining  thirty-four  years  of  his  life  in  public  ser- 
vice. The  ancient  bishopric  of  Lausanne  was  also  dissolved, 
and  the  whole  of  Vaud  became  Bernese  territory,  a  subject 
land  of  the  state  of  Bern. 

The  transformation  of  Geneva  was  now  practically  over. 
By  the  Bernese  invasion,  Catholicism  with  Episcopal  rule  had 
been  definitely  abolished.  A  new  city,  Protestant  in  point  of 
religion,  and  politically  free,  had  taken  the  place  of  the  old. 
Still  there  remained  a  great  deal  to  be  done  in  bringing  order 
into  the  council  of  the  city,  in  adapting  her  needs  to  new  sur- 
roundings, and,  above  all,  in  specifying  and  defining  the  arti- 
cles of  her  religious  creed.  After  a  period  of  general  radical 
changes,  the  city  was  sorely  in  need  of  a  constructive  era. 

It  was  just  at  this  time,  that  the  great  organizer  of  French 
Protestantism,  John  Calvin,  arrived  one  summer's  evening  in 
Geneva,  on  his  way  to  Germany,  expecting  to  proceed  unno- 
ticed on  his  journey  after  a  short  halt  for  rest.  But  the  ever- 
watchful  Farel  heard  of  his  presence,  and  forthwith  repaired  to 
the  house  where  Calvin  lodged,  to  persuade  him  to  stay  in 
Geneva,  and  help  him  in  the  work  of  organization.  With 
characteristic  vehemence,  he  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  Calvin 
with  God's  curse  if  he  did  not  give  up  his  intention  of  going 
to  Germany,  and  settle  in  Geneva. 

Calvin  obeyed  what  he  conceived  to  be  a  divine  call,  but 
with  the  utmost  reluctance,  for  he  was,  by  nature,  a  retiring 
scholar  rather  than  a  man  of  affairs.  He  had  hoped,  after 
many  wanderings,  to  find  a  place  of  refuge  in  Protestant  Ger- 


276  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

many,  where,  sheltered  from  strife,  he  might  meditate,  and 
occasionally  launch  a  telling  work  upon  the  world.  From  early 
youth  he  had  been  distinguished  by  great  sensitiveness,  prob- 
ably exaggerated  by  the  consciousness  of  bodily  weakness. 
His  father  had  destined  him  for  the  church;  and  when  he  was 
only  twelve  years  of  age,  had  already  procured  for  him  a  liv- 
ing, the  income  of  which  was  used  for  his  schooling  in  Paris. 
But  as  he  grew  up,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  change  of  plan, 
for  we  hear  of  his  studying  law  at  the  universities  of  Orleans 
and  Bourges.  Returning  to  Paris,  he  displayed  a  leaning 
toward  the  new  Lutheran  doctrines.  When  he  was  twenty- 
three,  a  lecture  of  his,  read  at  the  Sarbonne  by  one  of  his 
friends,  created  such  a  sensation  that  he  was  obliged  to  flee 
from  the  city  to  the  South  of  France. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  few  years,  he  visited  Strassburg 
and  Basel,  in  the  latter  place  publishing  (1536)  his  great  work, 
the  "  Institutio  Religionis  Christiana"  an  exposition  of  his  per- 
sonal faith,  and  by  far  the  most  important  dogmatic  work  of 
sixteenth  century  Protestantism.  After  a  short  visit  to  Fer- 
rara,  in  Italy,  he  returned  to  France,  and  was  on  his  way  to 
settle  in  Germany  when,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  detained 
in  Geneva  by  the  impetuous  Farel. 

Calvin  began  to  work  quietly,  under  Farel' s  guidance,  until 
his  superior  talents  made  him  the  chosen  leader  of  the  Gene- 
vese  Protestants.  He  drew  up  a  catechism,  organized  the  con- 
gregations, and  persuaded  the  secular  authorities  to  introduce 
sumptuary  laws  of  great  severity.  Jovial,  pleasure-loving 
Geneva  was  to  be  reformed  into  a  quiet,  church-going  com- 
munity. But  opposition  soon  manifested  itself  amongst  the 
people.  A  crisis  came,  in  1538,  when  Calvin  and  Farel 
refused  to  celebrate  the  communion,  on  the  plea  that  it  would 
be  profaned  by  the  dissensions  which  were  raging  in  the  city. 
For  this  act  of  insubordination  the  two  Reformers  were  con- 
demned by  the  municipal  council  to  leave  the  city  within  three 
days ;  Calvin  going  to  Strassburg  and  Farel  to  Neuchatel. 

One  might  have  supposed  that  this  episode  would  have  put 


CALVIN  IN  GENEVA.  277 

a  stop  to  Calvin's  and  Farel's  connection  with  Geneva,  but 
three  years  had  not  elapsed  before  their  partisans  in  the  city 
had  once  more  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  had  extended  an 
invitation  to  them  to  return  to  Geneva,  and  resume  the  work 
which  had  been  so  brusquely  interrupted.  It  was  with  great 
reluctance  that  'Calvin  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded. 
"When  I  think,"  he  writes  to  Farel,  "how  wretched  I  have 
been  there,  I  cannot  help  shuddering  in  my  whole  soul,  when- 
ever there  is  a  question  of  my  being  recalled."1  His  sense 
of  duty,  however,  prevailed  and  drove  him  back  to  Geneva, 
where,  once  installed"  in  to  shis  old  place,  he  displayed  the 
utmost  energy  in  '  furthering  the  plans  he  had  matured 
during  his  absence.  A  system  of  Church  polity,  his  "Ordon- 
nances  Ecclesiastiques,"  nvas  adopted  by  the  magistrates 
and  people  as  the  supreme  law,  ^  knowing  no  mercy  for 
those  who  disobeyed,  but  exercising  a  pitiless  censorship 
over  every  act  of  the  citizens.  A  system  very  much  like 
that  of  the  Catholic  inquisition  grew  up  under  his  patron- 
age; secret  spies  denounced  the  slightest  infraction  of  the 
laws,  and  even  torture  was  applied  to  prisoners  in  order 
to  extract  confessions  from  them.  The  multitude  of  these 
cruel  persecutions  culminated  in  that  of  Michael  Servetus, 
a  Spanish  physician,  who,  hunted  and  outlawed  by  Prot- 
estants and  Catholics  alike  for  his  denial  of  the  dogma  of  the 
Trinity,  was  caught  in  Geneva  and  burned  alive  by  order  of 
the  Council,  and  with  the  sanction  of  Calvin.  After  this 
the  Reformer's  authority  remained  practically  undisputed  until 
his  death.  Geneva  became  the  headquarters  of  the  various 
Reformed  churches,  the  Protestant  Rome  ;  England  and  Scot- 
land, the  Netherlands  and  Germany  sent  scholars  to  study 
under  Calvin  and  to  spread  his  peculiar  doctrines  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  Calvin  himself  died  in  1 564,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
five,  after  having  written  an  important  page  in  the  world's 
history. 

1  Oechsli,  W.      Quellenbuch.    p.  344. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DECAY    OF    NATIONAL    LIFE. 

WHEN  we  consider  the  religious  and  political  differences 
to  which  the  Reformation  had  given  rise  in  the  Swiss 
Confederation,  the  looseness  of  the  bonds  which  held  the  vari- 
ous States  together,  and  the  total  absence  of  any  central 
power,  impartial  enough  to  render  acceptable  verdicts,  or 
strong  enough  to  enforce  them  upon  the  contestants,  we  may 
well  wonder  that  the  Confederation  should  have  survived  the 
trials  of  this  period.  The  gigantic  struggle  between  Protest- 
tantism  and  revived  Catholicism,  which  was  raging  in  Europe 
at  large,  reproduced  its  various  phases  in  miniature  within  the 
Confederation.  Every  success  or  failure  of  the  foreign  con- 
tending armies  was  made  the  occasion  for  public  rejoicing  or 
bewailing  by  the  two  parties  in  Switzerland,  until  the  senti- 
ment of  a  distinct,  national  life  was  lost  in  the  heat  of  confes- 
sional dissensions. 

Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  remnants  of  the  old  Swiss 
spirit  could  have  survived  this  ordeal,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
possession  of  common  subject  lands,  for  whose  administration 
the  hostile  States  were  obliged  to  take  concerted  action. 

In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a  strong  reaction 
against  the  excesses  of  Protestantism  came  over  Europe,  cul- 
minating in  the  Catholic,  or  Counter-Reformation.  Starting 
with  the  Council  of  Trent,  in  1545-1563,  this  movement  was 
carried  forward  with  surprising  vigor  and  success  by  the  newly 
founded  order  of  the  Jesuits  and  the  reorganized  Capucines. 
In  Switzerland,  such  men  as  Aegidus  (Giles)  Tschudi,  of 
Glarus,  the  historian,  and  Ludwig  Pfyffer,  of  Luzern,  nick- 

278 


DECAY  OF  NATIONAL  LIFE.  279 

named  ''The  Swiss  King*',  on  account  of  his  wealth  and  influ- 
ence, labored  for  the  revival  of  Catholicism.  The  Five  States 
concluded  a  defensive  and  offensive  alliance  with  the  Pope; 
while  in  Milan,  Carlo  Borromeo,  Archbishop  and  leader  of  this 
revival,  founded  a  "  Collegium  Helveticum ",  where  a  certain 
number  of  Swiss  youths  could  be  educated  free  of  charge  and 
sent  back  to  spread  the  faith.  Moreover,  a  Jesuit  college  was 
created  in  Luzern  itself,  and  a  regular  nunciature  established 
there.  Finally  the  Five  Catholic  States,  with  Fribourg  and 
the  Valais,  cut  themselves  off  from  the  Protestant  Cantons,  in 
1586,  by  concluding  a  separate  league,  known  as  the  "Golden  ", 
on  account  of  the  gilded  initial  letters  of  the  document  then 
drawn  up.  In  1612,  Zurich  and  Bern,  on  their  side,  entered 
into  a  special  alliance  with  the  Margrave  of  Baden.  The 
State  of  Appenzell,  where  the  two  faiths  had  hitherto  existed 
side  by  side,  was  torn  asunder  into  Catholic  and  Protestant 
divisions,  known  as  Inner  Rhoden  and  Ausser  Rhoden. 

The  confessional  disputes  and  rivalries  which  had  agitated 
Europe  since  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation,  in  1618, 
ended  in  the  long  and  disastrous  struggle  known  as  the  Thirty- 
Years'  War.  Of  course  Switzerland  could  not  remain  uninflu- 
enced by  the  war  of  extermination  which  was  raging  around 
her  borders,  but  fortunately  all  the  efforts,  which  Catholics  and 
Protestants  alike  made  to  involve  the  country  in  direct  par- 
ticipation, were  fruitless.  Gustavus  Adolphus  in  vain  admon- 
ished the  Swiss  of  their  traditional  relationship  with  the 
Swedes.  They  displayed  a  self-possession  and  unanimity, 
which  were  truly  remarkable  considering  their  internal  jealous- 
ies, for  they  refused  to  enter  into  the  contest,  and,  for  the  first 
time,  gave  a  practical  application  to  the  principle  of  neutrality, 
which  has  since  become  an  established  national  policy  with 
them,  guaranteed  by  the  European  powers. 

It  was  a  period  of  utter  demoralization  in  politics,  but 
strangely  enough  an  era  of  progress  in  art,  science,  and  letters. 
Culture  advanced  while  patriotism  was  dying,  a  fact  which  can 
only  be  accounted  for  by  the  stimulating  effect  of  the  doctri- 


280          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

nal  controversies,  then  in  vogue,  and  the  presence  of  many 
foreign  fugitives,  bringing  new  ideas,  new  arts  and  new  proc- 
esses of  manufacture  into  the  country.  Strangely  enough, 
also,  it  was  at  this  very  time  of  national  degradation  and  confu- 
sion, that  the  work  of  Swiss  independence  received  its  final 
glorious  culmination. 

In  1648,  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  put  an  end  to  the  Thirty- 
Years'  War,  and,  what  is  more  important  for  our  special  con- 
sideration, in  a  separate  article  formally  acknowledged  the 
independence  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  from  the  German 
Empire.  In  the  words  of  the  text :  "  Aforesaid  city  of  Basel 
and  the  remaining  Cantons  of  the  Helvetians  are  in  possession 
of  as  good  as  full  freedom  and  exemption  from  the  Empire, 
and  are  in  no  way  subject  to  the  Dikasterien  and  courts  of 
that  Empire."1 

Thus  did  the  labor  of  the  early  patriots  against  the  House  of 
Habsburg  reach  its  full  fruition,  and  the  independence  of  Swit- 
zerland, which  was  virtually  an  accomplished  fact  after  the  Swa- 
bian  War,  receive  the  official  sanction  of  the  world  at  large. 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch,    p.  364. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE    GROWTH    OF    ARISTOCRACY   AND    THE    PEASANTS*    WAR. 


IT  is  perhaps  a  mistake  to  imagine  primitive  Switzerland  as  a 
country  in  which  pure  democratic  principles,  as  we  under- 
stand the  term  in  this  century,  held  unlimited  sway.  Equal 
rights  for  all  is  a  modern  conception  and  phrase.  It  was  not 
understood  at  the  time  when  the  Confederation  was  founded. 
But  with  all  these  political  shortcomings  and  prejudices,  the 
early  Swiss  were,  nevertheless,  the  best  democrats  of  their 
day,  unconscious,  but  practical  exponents  of  the  virtues  of  self- 
government.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  sequestered 
mountain  districts,  where  simple  habits  of  freedom  sprang 
naturally  from  the  rocky  soil.  In  the  cities,  the  common 
people  had  been  forced  to  wage  a  long  warfare  against  feudal 
masters  and  privileged  classes,  so  that  their  progress  toward 
complete  liberation  had  been  somewhat  retarded.  But  we  may 
say  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  before  the 
spirit  of  foreign  conquest  had  invaded  the  public  mind,  or  the 
possession  of  subject  lands  had  perverted  the  sense  of  natural 
rights,  the  Swiss  States,  both  country  districts  and  towns, 
were  organized  upon  democratic  principles. 

Unfortunately,  in  the  course  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a 
retrograde  movement  began  to  make  its  appearance,  an  aris- 
tocratic spirit  manifested  itself,  which  acquired  ascendancy 
during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  not  successfully 
stamped  out  until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth,  when  it  was 
swept  away  by  the  hurricane  of  the  French  Revolution.  All 
political  and  lucrative  offices  were  monopolized  by  privileged 

281 


282          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

families ;  the  Cantonal  magistrates,  as  well  as  those  which 
belonged  to  the  Confederation  at  large ;  the  bailiwicks  of  sub- 
ject lands  ;  and  the  posts  of  ambassadors  to  foreign  courts. 
All  were  held  by  a  few  men  and  their  relatives,  or  were  even 
inherited  from  father  to  son,  as  in  the  early  days  of  the  Feudal 
Age. 

These  abuses  were  more  conspicuous  in  the  cities,  with 
their  larger  populations  and  greater  wealth.  It  is  also  notice- 
able that  those  in  which  the  Guilds  had  no  political  power,  like 
Bern,  Luzern,  Fribourg,  and  Solothurn,  were  more  readily  sub- 
jected to  the  rule  of  aristocratic  factions,  while  the  Guild 
cities  of  Zurich,  Basel,  and  Schaffhausen  retained  their  demo- 
cratic organization  much  longer. 

Nor  did  the  Country  States  escape  altogether  from  the  pre- 
vailing tendency,  for,  although  they  never  abolished  the  Lands- 
gemeinden,  still  the  actual  governing  powers  tended  more  and 
more  to  be  monopolized  by  certain  powerful  families. 

What  are  the  facts  which  can  account  for  the  growth  of  this 
aristocratic  spirit  in  a  country  which  was  organized  upon  the 
principles  of  self  government  ?  One  thing  is  certain,  mere 
political  conditions  are  not  sufficient  to  explain  so  great  a 
transformation. 

It  is  true  that  since  the  entry  of  the  Swiss  Confederation 
into  European  politics,  everything  had  tended  to  produce  a 
distinct  governing  class.  There  were  the  great  mercenary 
captains,  the  ambassadors  to  foreign  courts,  and  the  bailiffs  of 
subject  lands;  men  who  acquired  wealth  and  titles  abroad,  and 
expended  them  in  establishing  their  political  power  at  home. 
But  economic  and  social  abuses  were  at  the  root  of  these  pol- 
itical privileges. 

The  great  fundamental  wrong  in  Switzerland  was  the  same 
as  that  which  has  brought  to  ruin  in  succession  the  various 
great  empires  of  the  world.  The  treatment  of  the  conquered 
provinces,  of  the  new  lands,  and  the  men  who  tilled  them,  was 
continually  at  variance  with  the  early  traditions  of  the  Con- 
federation. As  soon  as  the  era  of  conquests  had  set  in,  an 


THE   GROWTH  OF  ARISTOCRACY.  283 

aristocratic  class  had  naturally  developed.  The  conquered 
provinces  were  not  accorded  equal  rights  with  the  actual  mem- 
bers of  the  Confederation,  but  were  held  in  subjection,  were 
fleeced  by  rapacious  bailiffs,  and  denied  the  least  expression  of 
their  own  will. 

The  Confederates  assumed  the  feudal  rights  of  the  nobility 
which  they  had  driven  out ;  their  bailiffs  ruled  like  sovereigns, 
held  miniature  courts,  and  exacted  the  same  tribute,  in  the 
shape  of  taxes  and  personal  service,  as  the  former  feudal 
rulers.  As  far  as  the  subject  lands  were  concerned,  it  was  a 
mere  exchange  of  masters,  and  sometimes  a  most  disadvan- 
tageous bargain.  The  administration  of  these  subject  lands 
certainly  forms  one  of  the  darkest  pictures  in  Swiss  history. 
Every  State  in  the  Confederation  became  a  land-owning  cor- 
poration. The  aristocratic  factions  within  the  city  developed 
into  an  idle  body,  who  lived  upon  the  unearned  increment  of 
land,  or  the  pensions  received  from  foreign  military  service. 
It  made  no  difference  that  the  Swiss  peasants  were  generally 
allowed  to  remain  in  nominal  possession  of  the  land  they 
tilled  —  in  distinction  to  their  fellows  in  France,  Germany, 
and  Italy  —  for  mortgages,  taxes,  and  personal  services  swal- 
lowed up  the  apparent  advantage,  and  made  their  position  fully 
as  miserable. 

This  was  the  original  cause  which  produced  the  aristocratic 
revival,  and  led  to  the  terrible  outbreak  in  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  known  as  the  Peasants'  War.  After 
numerous  unsuccessful  risings  in  protest  against  these  wrongs, 
a  general  movement  was  inaugurated,  in  1653,  in  the  Entle- 
buch,  a  valley  subject  to  Luzern.  It  spread  to  other  Cantons 
and  finally  embraced  almost  the  whole  Confederation.  Popu- 
lar assemblies  were  held  everywhere  by  the  peasants  to  protest 
against  the  tyrannies  of  the  local  governments,  and  a  great 
wide-spreading  "League  of  the  People"  was  established,  under 
the  leadership  of  two  devoted  men,  Christian  Schibi  and 
Nicholas  Leuenberger.  But  the  badly  organized  and  ignorant 
peasantry,  burning  under  a  sense  of  injustice,  without  definite 


284          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

plans  or  remedies,  were  no  match  for  the  well-equipped  author- 
ities of  the  various  States. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  an  article  had  been  inserted  into 
the  famous  Covenant  of  Stans,  pledging  the  governments  of 
the  contracting  States  to  support  each  other  against  popular 
up-risings.  At  the  time  when  this  agreement  was  made  the 
country  had  been  disturbed  by  .the  armed  exploits  of  various 
bands  of  unemployed  mercenaries,  returned  from  foreign  ser- 
vice, and  there  was,  in  reality,  urgent  need  for  concerted  action 
upon  the  part  of  the  authorities ;  but  in  this  case  the  peasants 
were  not  seditious  vagabonds,  to  be  repressed  without  a  hearing. 
They  were  men  with  legitimate  grievances,  and  it  is  a  distress- 
ing sign  of  the  loss  of  the  true  democratic  spirit  in  Switzer- 
land that  no  serious  effort  was  made  by  the  governments  to 
redress  their  wrongs.  The  Covenant  of  Stans  reads  like  a 
contract  between  governments,  instead  of  between  peoples. 

In  the  armed  encounters  which  resulted  from  this  state  of 
affairs,  the  poorly  equipped  peasantry  were  beaten,  and  their 
leaders  arrested.  Leuenberger  and  Schibi  were  tortured  and 
executed  ;  Leuenberger  being  specially  honored  by  having  his 
body  quartered  as  a  final  expression  of  the  hatred  of  the 
authorities. 

After  this  victory,  the  democratic  movement  gained  renewed 
force,  and  the  autocratic,  absolute  rule  by  the  magistrates, 
quite  upon  the  same  pattern  as  that  in  vogue  amongst  the  sur- 
rounding monarchical  states,  was  substituted  for  the  old  self- 
government  of  the  people.  Popular  sovereignty  ceased  to  be 
acknowledged,  and  in  its  place  arose  the  doctrine  of  the  divine 
authority  of  the  magistrates. 

A  period  full  of  national  degradation  and  shameful  submis- 
sion to  foreign  influences  was  the  natural  result. 

Louis  XIV.,  of  France,  succeeded  in  bringing  the  Confeder- 
ates completely  under  his  control,  by  binding  them  to  him  in  a 
treaty,  originally  concluded  in  1602  but  renewed  in  1663,  in 
which  they  pledged  themselves  to  supply  him  with  at  least  six 
thousand  men,  or  at  most  sixteen  thousand  annually,  in  return 


THE   GEOWTH  OF  ARISTOCRACY.  285 

for  certain  commercial  privileges.  He  granted  annuities  of 
three  thousand  francs  to  each  Ganton  and  regular  pay  to  the 
mercenaries  beside. 

Thus  it  was  that  Swiss  soldiers  fought  under  his  banners 
against  the  Dutch  Republic,  in  the  Palatinate,  and  in  all  the 
great  wars  which  Louis  XIV.  brought  upon  Europe. 

Switzerland,  in  all  but  name,  became  a  dependency  of  the 
French  Crown.  Born  in  the  thirteenth  century,  she  had 
passed  through  her  heroic  age  in  the  fourteenth ;  had  expanded, 
first  by  natural  assimilation,  and  then  by  conquest,  in  the  fif- 
teenth and  sixteenth;  and  in  the  seventeenth  and  the  first 
part  of  the  eighteenth  was  lying  passive,  un progressive,  and 
apparently  in  decay.  Within  the  small  circle  of  the  Confed- 
eration the  utmost  confusion  and  diversity  of  interests  reigned 
supreme  ;  localism  was  carried  to  the  farthest  possible  limits 
in  the  different  States;  different  systems  of  coinage,  different 
measures  and  military  establishments  conflicted  with  each 
other.  The  national,  patriotic  spirit  was  in  abeyance. 

Of  course  the  aristocratic  factions,  which  had  gained  the 
upper  hand,  endeavored  to  perpetuate  their  rule  by  secret 
methods,  by  organizations  of  spies  and  the  enactment  of 
sumptuary  laws  controlling  every  detail  of  private  life.  Some 
of  these  ordinances  read  like  jokes  perpetuated  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  people  rather  than  serious  efforts  at  legislation. 
Thus  it  was  that  Johannes  Miiller,  Switzerland's  classic  his- 
torian, was  forced  to  print  Boston  as  the  place  where  his 
great  history  was  published,  instead  of  Bern,  in  order  that  it 
might  escape  the  scissors  of  the  local  censor,  and  the 
pamphlet  of  Freudenberger,  showing  the  Danish  origin  of  the 
legend  of  William  Tell,  was  publicly  burned  by  the  hangman 
of  Uri.  An  aversion  to  everything  new  characterized  the  rul- 
ing powers,  and  a  timid  clinging  to  everything  old.  Society 
seemed  once  more  organized  upon  a  feudal  basis,  without, 
however,  the  compensations  which  had  made  the  old  system  so 
long  tolerated. 

But  even  while  Switzerland  presented  this  doleful  aspect, 


286  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

and  seemed  to  have  wandered  hopelessly  from  her  original 
ideals  and  traditions,  new  forces  were  beginning  to  work  in  her 
midst,  preparing  a  movement  which  should  eventually  lead  to  a 
complete  national  regeneration.  Switzerland  was  soon  to  be 
purged  of  the  artificial,  aristocratic,  and  autocratic  abuses 
which  had  fastened  themselves  upon  her  public  life.  After 
many  vicissitudes  she  was  destined  to  become  the  most  demo- 
cratic, and  best  governed  of  modern  states. 


BOOK  V. 

THE   MODERN   CONFEDERATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SIGNS  OF  NATIONAL  REGENERATION. 

A  WHOLE  list  of  world  celebrities  lived  and  worked  on 
what  is  now  Swiss  territory,  during  the  second  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth. 
Zurich,  Bern,  and  Basel,  the  republic  of  Geneva,  Neuchatel  (at 
that  time  a  Prussian  Province),  and  the  land  of  Vaud  (still  in 
subjection  to  Bern),  were  all  the  homes  of  men  whose  influ- 
ence radiated  over  the  whole  of  Europe. 

It  suffices  to  mention  the  names  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
Madame  de  Stael,  Gibbon,  Lavater,  and  Pestalozzi,  in  order  to 
indicate  what  tremendous  powers  were  concentrated  on  Swiss 
soil  during  that  period. 

In  truth,  it  was  a  revival  of  literature,  of  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, which  gave  the  original  impulse  to  the  national  regener- 
ation of  Switzerland.  Political  reorganization  seems  to  have 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  this  awakening  instead  of  preced- 
ing it,  as  one  might  have  expected. 

The  honor  of  starting  the  movement  of  reform,  of  touching 
the  public  conscience,  must  be  ascribed  to  Johann  Jacob  Bod- 
mer,  of  Zurich,  who  gathered  about  himself  a  school  of  devoted 
scholars,  bent  upon  the  task  of  reviving  patriotism,  and  found- 
ing a  veritable  independent  Switzerland.  He  seems  to  have 
drawn  his  inspiration  principally  from  the  master-pieces  of 
English  literature,  for  which  he  conceived  an  ardent  admira- 
tion. In  conjunction  with  Johann  Jacob  Breitinger,  he 
founded  a  review  in  imitation  of  the  English  reviews,  with  a 
somewhat  fanciful  name,  "The  Discourses  of  Painters,"  in 
which  he  and  his  followers  gave  expression  to  their  ideas  upon 

289 


290  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

national  topics.  Bodmer  was  also  in  constant  communication 
with  the  celebrated  Klopstock,  known  as  the.  Father  of  modern 
German  prose. 

While  this  school  of  thought  was  actively  engaged  in  Zurich, 
Albrecht  Von  Haller,  in  Bern,  was  writing  patriotic  poems, 
which  found  a  ready  echo  all  over  Switzerland.  It  was  not 
long  before  every  place  of  inp.ortance  in  the  country  had 
become  the  centre  of  stirring,  literary  activity,  fostered  by 
correspondence  with  foreign  scholars,  or  by  the  visits  of  great 
men,  such  as  Goethe  and  Fichte.  This  age  saw  Lavater,  the- 
ologian and  original  investigator  into  the  science  of  Physiog- 
nomy and  Phrenology;  Salomon  Gessner,  the  author  of  "Swiss 
Idylls  "  ;  Isaak  Iselin,  of  Basel,  the  philosopher ;  and  Pestalozzi, 
whose  labors  in  educational  matters  have  become  the  common 
heritage  of  mankind.  It  is  significant  of  the  extent  to  which 
culture  had  advanced  in  Switzerland  as  compared  with  Ger- 
many, that  a  little  place  like  Solothurn  supplied  three  times 
as  many  subscribers  to  Goethe's  works  as  either  Berlin  or 
Vienna. 

In  Basel,  the  family  of  Bernouilli  were  attracting  universal 
attention  by  their  achievements  in  various  branches  of  science, 
notably  in  mathematics.  It  was  at  this  time,  too,  that  Gottlieb 
Emanuel  Haller,  of  Bern,  and  Johannes  Miiller,  of  Schaff- 
hausen,  the  classic  historian  of  Switzerland,  were  inflaming 
patriotic  zeal  by  their  writings  on  national  history.  Fearless 
investigators  were  beginning  to  show  the  legendary  character 
of  the  national  hero,  William  Tell.  As  a  result  of  De  Saus- 
sure's  ascent  of  Mont  Blanc  and  his  various  exploits  and  des- 
criptions, the  Alps  now,  for  the  first  time,  acquired  a  charm  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world.  The  Ancients  had  regarded  them 
only  as  horrible,  uncanny  manifestations  of  nature,  to  be 
avoided  if  possible ;  now  men  were  led  to  seek  new  inspirations 
and  serene  pleasures  in  their  midst.  Tourists  began  to  flock 
to  them,  new  roads  and  maps  to  multiply. 

So  pronounced  an  awakening  in  literature  could  not  fail  to 
exert  a  reflex  action  upon  politics,  and  to  stimulate  patriotism. 


SIGNS   OF  NATIONAL  REGENERATION.          291 

In  1762,  a  so-called  Helvetian  society  was  organized,  with  the 
avowed  object  of  studying  and  introducing  practical  reforms  in 
every  department  of  public  life.  The  Baths  of  Schinznach,, 
near  Brugg,  were  selected  as  a  rendezvous  for  the  members  of 
this  society.  It  was  agreed  that  complete  religious  toleration 
should  reign  over  their  consultations. 

About  the  same  time,  an  agricultural  society  was  formed  in 
Bern,  the  Oekonomische  Ge&ellsckaft  (1/59),  said  to  have  been 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  Europe.  The  old  system  of  rotation  of 
crops,  with  all  its  waste  and  primitive  methods,  began  to  be 
abandoned,  every  farmer  planting  when  and  where  he  chose. 
The  Allmenden,  also,  those  peculiar  landmarks  of  Swiss  coun- 
try districts,  tended  to  disappear,  and  with  them  that  primitive 
communism  of  which  they  were  the  outward  expression.  In 
other  branches  of  production,  changes  manifested  themselves. 
Manufactures  of  silk,  wool,  and  cotton  were  erected  in  the 
Eastern  part  of  Switzerland ;  in  French  Switzerland  watch-mak- 
ing was  introduced,  and  has  maintained  itself  there  ever  since. 

Simultaneously  with  these  manifestations  of  the  modern  spirit 
in  the  old  Confederation,  there  was  in  progress  a  marvelous 
quickening  of  thought,  a  veritable  upheaval  of  tradition,  on  the 
borders  of  the  lake  of  Geneva.  The  premonitory  symptoms  of 
the  French  Revolution  were  abroad  in  the  air.  The  philos- 
ophy of  enlightenment  was  making  converts.  A  host  of  dis- 
satisfied, expectant,  speculative  thinkers  were  undermining 
long-cherished  institutions  in  every  department  of  life. 

The  Republic  of  Geneva  had  been  torn  throughout  the  cen- 
tury by  internal  conflicts  between  the  ruling,  oligarchical  fac- 
tion and  the  common  citizens.  The  situation  was  aggravated 
by  the  presence  of  a  third  group,  the  descendants  of  foreigners, 
who  had  settled  in  Geneva,  principally  as  a  result  of  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  in  1685.  Although  these 
families  formed  the  most  progressive  and  enlightened  element 
in  the  community,  they  were  without  political  rights  in  their 
adopted  city,  but  were  oppressed  alike  by  the  aristocracy,  and 
the  native  citizens.  It  was  to  them  that  Voltaire  said  :  "  My 


292  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

friends,  you  resemble  somewhat  those  flying  fish,  who,  when 
out  of  water  are  eaten  by  birds  of  prey,  and  when  they  dive 
back  again  into  the  waves,  are  devoured  by  big  fish."1  There 
was  almost  universal  discontent. 

By  a  somewhat  unusual  coincidence,  two  men  arrived  in 
Geneva,  in  the  same  year,  1754,  who  were  destined  to  exert 
an  overmastering  influence  upon  their  time.  Rousseau  was 
returning  there  after  a  wandering,  unstable  youth,  spent  prin- 
cipally in  France,  and  Voltaire  entered  the  city  to  spend  the 
declining  years  of  his  life.  Between  them  they  succeeded  in 
creating  a  veritable  revolution  in  theology,  literature,  and 
politics,  attracting  followers,  but  attacking  each  other  without 
mercy  or  scruple. 

Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  was  born  in  Geneva,  in  1712.  H. 
T.  Amiel  calls  him,  "The  most  powerful  advocate  of  individ- 
ualism." He  preached  the  gospel  of  the  natural  rights  of 
man.  In  his  "Nouvelle  He*loifse",  he  gave  an  idyllic  picture 
of  primitive  society,  in  "Emile,"  pleaded  for  the  natural 
method  of  educating  children,  and  in  the  "Contrat  Social", 
outlined  an  ideal  state.  But  his  writings  are  often  mixtures 
of  sublime  truths  and  strange  sophisms.  Always  invigorat- 
ing, palpitating  with  earnestness  and  actuality,  never  fail- 
ing to  provoke  thought,  Rousseau,  at  times,  fell  into  error  and 
showed  a  warped  judgment.  After  his  "Emile"  had  been 
publicly  burned  by  the  hangman,  he  fled  to  Yverdon,  and 
thence  to  M6tiers,  in  the  then  Prussian  Province  of  Neuchatel. 
But  his  "Letters  from  the  Mountain",  provoking  the  peasants 
of  his  retreat  to  threaten  his  life,  he  withdrew  to  the  little 
island  of  St.  Pierre,  in  the  lake  of  Bienne.  Hunted  even  from 
this  shelter  soon  after,  by  the  authorities  of  Bern,  he  went 
abroad  to  Strassburg,  and  also  visited  his  friend,  David  Hume, 
in  England.  He  died  in  1778,  before  the  great  revolution,  of 
which  he  was  the  chief  apostle,  had  culminated  in  the  revolt 
of  the  French  people.  A  warm-hearted,  unbalanced  creature, 
filled  with  the  immortal  promptings  of  liberty,  Rousseau  seems 

1  Godet,  Philippe.     Histoire  Litteraire  de  la  Suisse  Frar^aise,  p.  229. 


SIGNS   OF  NATIONAL   REGENERATION.          293 

to  have  been  more  sinned  against  than  sinning.  He  had 
caught  the  imagination  of  a  restless  generation,  reflected  its 
aspirations,  and  in  an  unconventional,  free  spirit  had  taught 
men  to  learn  from  nature  at  first  hand.  He  made  all  Europe 
stop  and  think.  Certainly  the  French  Revolution  derived 
from  him  its  conception  of  civic  equality  and  national  sover- 
eignty, and  the  world  has  many  lessons  still  to  take  to  heart 
from  the  Genevese  philosopher. 

Voltaire  was  sixty-one  years  old  when  he  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  his  estate  of  Les  Delices,  near  Geneva,  His  free- 
thought  writings  and  the  theatrical  performances,  which  he 
delighted  to  hold  with  his  friends  and  followers,  shocked  the 
Puritan  city  inexpressibly.  Whether  at  Lausanne,  or  in  the 
castle  of  Prangins,  near  Nyon,  or  at  Ferney,  just  outside  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Republic  of  Geneva,  whither  he  retired 
after  his  enemies  grew  too  strong  in  the  city,  everywhere  he 
created  a  stimulating,  irreverent  atmosphere.  From  his 
retreat,  he  delighted  in  worrying  and  twitting  the  staid  magis- 
strates  of  the  city.  He  laughed  at  the  disturbances  he  cre- 
ated. There  was  something  sinister  in  his  raillery,  and 
malicious  in  his  cynical  genius.  At  times  his  feverish  wrath 
against  his  enemies  took  on  an  almost  diabolical  character. 
But  the  marvelous  brilliancy  of  his  satire,  his  perseverance, 
even  if  unworthily  exhibited,  must  be  accounted  of  value  in 
the  general  assault  which  was  being  made  on  antiquated 
abuses,  and  irrational  modes  of  thought. 

Edward  Gibbon,  on  three  occasions,  made  his  home  in 
Lausanne,  in  1756,  again  from  1763-1767,  and  from  1785- 
1793.  It  was  there  that  he  finished  his  great  work  on  the 
"Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire."  Not  possessing 
the  magnetic,  attractive  power  of  either  Voltaire  or  Rousseau, 
Gibbon  did  not  gather  around  him  a  circle  of  disciples,  but 
was  well  known  to  all  his  contemporaries  in  the  world  of 
letters.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  he  was  at  one  time 
engaged  to  be  married  to  Suzanne  Curchod,  later  the  wife  of 
Necker,  the  famous  financier  of  Louis  XVI. 


294  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

It  was  in  the  castle  at  Coppet,  a  little  village  on  .the  lake, 
near  Geneva,  that  the  daughter  of  Mme.  Necker,  Mme.  de 
Stael,  held  intellectual  court,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century. 
The  best  thought  of  Europe  flocked  thither.  For  a  time 
European  brilliancy  was  focused  upon  that  small  place. 

In  this  manner  the  ground  was  being  prepared  for  a  mighty 
harvest.  A  regeneration  was  at  hand,  and  in  this  world-wide 
movement,  Switzerland  was  playing  a  prominent  part. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    HELVETIC    REVOLUTION. 

IT  is  unnecessary  for  the  writer  to  describe  in  detail  that  tre- 
mendous awakening  of  mankind,  which  characterized  the 
last  decades  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  changed  the  face 
of  Europe.  The  centenary  of  the  French  Revolution  was 
recently  celebrated  with  so  much  splendor,  its  history  was  so 
fully  and  minutely  reviewed,  and  the  lessons  which  it  incul- 
cates were  placed  before  the  public  in  so  unmistakable  a  fash- 
ion that  nothing  new  remains  to  be  said  upon  the  subject.  I 
will  simply  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Switzerland  also  felt 
the  promptings  of  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  played  her  part  in 
the  tragedy  which  marked  the  overthrow  of  an  old  civilization 
and  the  beginning  of  a  new  one.  Indeed,  the  Revolution, 
like  the  Reformation  two  hundred  years  before,  was  a  univer- 
sal movement,  penetrating  every  sphere  of  thought  and  action 
and  spreading  to  every  land.  It  was  not  exclusively  French, 
for  in  1776,  fully  twenty  years  before  the  outbreak  in  France, 
the  United  States  of  America  had  launched  forth  upon  an 
astonished  and  applauding*  world  the  glowing  enunciation  of 
first  principles  contained  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

As  early  as  the  first  decades  of  the  eventful  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  people  of  the  Land  Cantons  of  Switzerland  had 
grown  restive  under  the  autocratic  rule  of  their  governments. 
Popular  risings  occurred  in  Appenzell  against  Landammann 
Zellweger,  who,  intrenched  behind  his  office,  resisted  for  some 
time  all  efforts  made  to  dislodge  him ;  in  Zug  against  a  certain 
Zur  Lauben ;  and  in  Schwiz  against  the  aristocratic  supremacy 

295 


296  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

of  the  family  of  Reding,  who,  having  acquired  wealth  in  for- 
eign service,  had  constituted  themselves  patriarchal  leaders  of 
the  people  at  home. 

The  cities  also  began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  new  ideas 
which  were  taking  possession  of  the  people.  Geneva,  as  has 
been  noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  the  scene  of 
countless  revolts  and  revolutions'  against  the  established  order 
of  government.  In  Bern,  Henzi,  the  leader  of  a  democratic 
movement,  was  executed,  with  two  companions.  In  Zurich  a 
certain  Waser  shared  the  same  fate. 

Finally  the  subject  lands  themselves,  the  down -trodden, 
long-suffering  victims  of  a  system  of  tyranny,  but  little  better 
than  that  of  the  feudal  age  at  its  worst,  revolted  against  their 
abnormal  condition.  The  little  Gemeinde  of  Wilchingen,  in 
the  territory  of  Schaffhausen,  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to 
rise  ;  then  came  liberty-loving  Entlebuch,  under  the  rule  of 
Luzern  ;  and  other  small  communities  followed  the  example 
thus  set  to  them.  The  most  notable  of  the  revolts,  at  this 
time,  was  the  ill-fated  one  of  the  people  of  Vaud,  under  Major 
Davel,  a  singularly  disinterested,  but  visionary  character.  His 
heroic  efforts  failed  utterly.  Having  been  seized  by  the  Ber- 
nese authorities,  he  was  beheaded  just  outside  of  Lausanne. 
Disturbances  broke  out  subsequently  in  the  territory  of  the 
Prince  Bishop  of  Basel,  and  in  the  Toggenburg,  a  subject  land 
of  the  Prince  Abbot  of  St.  Gallen.  The  Val  Leventina,  mod- 
ern Ticino,  showed  signs  of  unrest  under  the  rule  of  Uri;  and 
Neuchatel  tried  to  throw  off  the  Prussian  yoke,  which  had 
been  imposed  upon  the  little  city  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in 
1712. 

But  soon  the  efforts  of  the  revolutionary  parties  sought 
wider  fields.  A  regular  propaganda  of  new  ideas  was  started 
by  a  Swiss  Club,  formed  for  the  purpose,  in  Paris.  Pamph- 
lets were  distributed  broadcast,  in  spite  of  the  watchfulness  of 
the  Cantonal  authorities ;  the  subject  lands  were  exhorted  to 
throw  off  the  yoke  of  foreign  rule.  The  principles  of  equality 
and  natural  rights  were  preached. 


THE  HELVETIC  REVOLUTION.  297 

On  several  occasions,  war  seemed  imminent  between  France 
and  Switzerland,  especially  in  1792,  when  the  greater  part  of 
the  Swiss  Guard  was  massacred  in  defending  the  Palace  of  the 
Tuilleries  from  the  attacks  of  the  mob.  It  appears  that  the 
Swiss  troops  were  more  than  holding  their  own,  when  the 
word  of  command  came  from  the  King  to  cease  firing,  and  the 
people,  overpowering  the  guard,  killed  more  than  half  of  them. 
It  is  in  commemoration  of  this  deed  that  the  famous  lion  of 
Luzern  was  designed  by  Thorwaldsen,  and  the  words  "  Helveti- 
orum  fidei  ac  virtuti"  engraved  beneath.  But  the  final  out- 
break of  hostilities  did  not  come  till  later,  when  the  Directory 
having  been  established  in  France,  and  Napoleon  having 
assumed  control  of  affairs,  the  conquest  of  Switzerland  became 
a  necessity,  in  order  that  she  might  act  as  a  buffer  against 
Austria  and  Germany  and  a  link  with  the  newly  conquered 
regions  of  the  North  of  Italy.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
Napoleon  deliberately  planned  the  invasion  of  Switzerland, 
in  order  to  make  use  of  her  important  strategic  position  for 
the  furtherance  of  his  great  plans.  He  also  desired  to  replen- 
ish his  coffers  with  the  great  sums  of  money,  which  were 
known  to  be  hidden  in  the  treasury  vaults  of  Bern  and  other 
rich  centres. 

The  French  were  helped  in  their  designs  by  two  Swiss 
statesmen  of  talent,  whom  they  had  succeeded  in  winning 
over  to  their  side ;  Peter  Ochs  of  Basel,  and  Frederic  Caesar 
La  Harpe  of  Vaud.  Not  that  these  men  intentionally  played 
the  part  of  traitors  to  their  native  country ;  they  were  inspired 
by  the  desire,  which  all  true  patriots  must  have  shared  with 
them,  of  seeing  the  aristocratic  factions  in  the  various  Can- 
tons swept  away  and  true  democratic  governments  substituted. 
The  mistake  they  made  was  in  trusting  too  much  to  the  good 
faith  and  the  avowed  disinterestedness  of  French  statesmen. 

The  first  infringement  of  Swiss  territory  took  place  in 
1797.  The  Val  Tellina  (Gr.  Veltlin),  then  a  subject  land  of 
Graubiinden,  but  now  forming  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy, 
seized  the  opportunity  created  by  internal  difficulties  in 


298  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Graubunden,  to  break  away,  and,  with  Napoleon's  permission, 
to  join  the  newly  erected  Cisalpine  Republic. 

In  the  same  year,  Napoleon  passed  through  Switzerland,  on 
his  way  to  the  Congress  of  Rastadt.  Geneva  and  Lausanne 
received  him  with  open  arms.  He  passed  by  Morat,  Bern,  and 
Basel  through  the  country,  greeted  everywhere  with  enthusiasm, 
either  as  a  deliverer  and  avenger,  or  as  an  all-powerful  con- 
queror. The  Congress  of  Rastadt  was  a  failure,  but  Napoleon 
had  been  able  to  reconnoitre  Switzerland,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  indications  which  he  gave  his  generals  upon  his  return 
to  Paris  were  of  great  service  in  the  subsequent  invasion  of 
the  country.  In  the  meantime,  the  patriots  of  Vaud  were 
carrying  on  a  systematic  agitation,  under  the  leadership  of 
La  Harpe,  encouraged  by  the  French  authorities.  Bern  then 
sent  troops  into  Vaud,  and  the  inhabitants  called  upon  the 
French  for  help ;  thereupon  the  French  ambassador,  in  the 
name  of  the  Directory  of  France,  officially  recognized  the  "  Re- 
public of  the  Leman  ",  and  two  days  after,  upon  a  slight  pre- 
text, French  troops  entered  and  occupied  the  new  Republic. 

Under  outside  pressure,  and  when  it  was  too  late,  the  gov- 
ernments of  the  various  Cantons  announced  all  manner  of 
reforms,  thinking  thus  to  satisfy  the  long-expressed  demands 
of  the  people.  But  the  latter  now  took  matters  into  their  own 
hands.  In  every  Canton  the  glad  news  of  "  Liberty,  Equality 
and  Fraternity  "  was  proclaimed.  The  whole  country  was  in  a 
state  of  confusion  and  transition,  admirably  suited  to  further 
the  plans  of  the  French  Directory.  In  fact,  Bern  was  the  only 
Canton  which  made  serious  preparations  to  withstand  the  inva- 
sion. The  other  Cantons  were  either  too  busy  in  settling 
their  own  local  disturbances,  or  were  indifferent  to  the  bonds 
which  still  held  them  to  each  other.  It  must  also  be  acknowl- 
edged that  the  majority  of  the  Swiss  people  did  not  suppose 
that  France  harbored  any  hostile  plans  against  them,  but 
naifvely  believed  in  the  assurances  of  the  French  emissaries 
accredited  to  their  various  governments.  At  most  they  looked 
for  a  benevolent  intervention. 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 

roj 

THE  HELVETIC  REVOLUTION.  299 

After  long  negotiations,  an  unacceptable  ultimatum  was 
sent  to  the  Bernese  authorities  by  the  French,  and  the  attack 
began  upon  the  old  city,  so  long  free  from  foreign  foes. 

The  French  army,  under  Brune  and  Schauenburg,  mustered 
25,000  strong  with  reserves,  while  Bern  could  put  only  15,000 
in  the  field.  It  was  not  long,  therefore,  before  the  three 
columns  of  the  French  had  thrown  back  the  Bernese  detach- 
ments sent  forward  to  intercept  their  approach.  At  Grauholz, 
a  decisive  battle  was  fought. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  conflict,  it  was  evident  what 
the  result  must  be.  The  disproportion  between  the  forces 
was  too  great  to  admit  of  a  favorable  outcome  for  the  Bernese, 
but,  nevertheless,  they  stood  undaunted  and  steadfast  in  their 
place  of  defence,  displaying  throughout  that  terrible  conflict, 
the  truest  heroism.  Old  men  and  women,  with  agricultural 
implements,  threw  themselves  into  the  fray,  only  to  be  cut 
down  by  the  French  soldiery.  At  length,  overcome  by 
superior  numbers,  the  Bernese  troops  withdrew  to  their  city, 
and  capitulated  just  as  Erlach,  their  leader,  was  meditating  a 
last  supreme  effort. 

It  seemed  as  though  the  power  of  resistance  in  the  outworn 
Confederation  had  been  completely  broken,  for,  after  the  fall 
of  Bern,  the  other  states  yielded  without  striking  a  blow. 
The  ancient  league  of  Thirteen  States  collapsed  like  an  old 
house,  unfit  for  use. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    HELVETIC    REPUBLIC. 

AS  one  of  the  few  Americans  who  have  turned  their  atten- 
tion upon  Swiss  history  has  aptly  remarked,  "  A  con- 
sultation of  French  doctors  sat  upon  the  case  of  Switzerland. 
Having  rejuvenated  France,  the  Paris  revolutionists  proposed 
to  reform  the  rest  of  the  world.  Switzerland  must  be  made 
a  unit  state,  and  so  it  was.  The  ancient  Cantons,  cradled  in 
independence  and  grown  old  in  isolation,  were  suddenly  trans- 
formed into  departments  of  a  single  government  and  called 
the  Helvetic  Republic."1 

Had  disinterested  motives  alone  prompted  French  inter- 
ference, Switzerland  might  have  been  spared  those  scenes  of 
violence  which  followed  the  proclamation  of  the  new  Helvetic 
constitution,  but  the  French  statesmen  and  their  generals  had 
absorbed  the  lust  of  conquest  and  of  plunder.  Brune  issued 
a  pompous  proclamation,  in  which  he  solemnly  affirmed  that 
he  had  come  as  friend  of  the  worthy  descendants  of  William 
Tell,  and  not  as  conqueror.  He  told  the  Swiss  to  fear  noth- 
ing for  their  personal  safety,  their  possessions,  their  religion, 
their  political  independence,  and  the  integrity  of  their  terri- 
tory. As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  promises  were  deliberately 
broken.  No  sooner  had  the  French  troops  taken  possession 
of  the  country,  than  the  inhabitants  were  ordered  to  lodge  and 
feed  them,  and  a  systematic  plundering  of  the  cantonal  treas- 
uries was  undertaken  by  Brune  and  his  associates.  Many 
millions  of  francs  were  thus  sent  to  France,  ostensibly  to  pay 
for  the  costs  of  the  occupation,  but  really  in  order  to  fill  the 

1  Vincent,  J.  M.     A  Study  in  Swiss  History.     Pamphlet  p.  1 2. 

300 


THE  HEELVTIC  REPUBLIC.  301 

depleted  coffers  of  the  French  Directory.  Especially  hard 
was  the  fate  of  Bern,  whose  rich  treasury,  the  long-saved-up 
hoard  of  centuries,  was  promptly  despoiled  of  available  funds 
in  bullion  and  securities. 

No  words  are  too  strong  to  condemn  the  conduct  of  these 
French  invaders.  No  regrets  can  suffice  to  express  the  harm 
they  did  to  the  cause  of  liberty  in  Switzerland  and  in  the  world 
at  large.  The  ultimate  benefit  which  accrued  to  Switzerland 
from  the  French  Revolution  is  the  only  extenuating  circum- 
stance, the  only  excuse  which  can  be  cited  in  their  behalf. 

It  was  determined  to  put  in  force  a  Constitution,  modeled 
upon  that  of  France,  and  for  this,  the  project  drawn  up  by 
Ochs  was  taken  as  a  basis,  but  considerable  vacillation  showed 
itself  at  first  in  adopting  a  definite  scheme.  An  idea  was 
mooted  of  breaking  up  the  country  into  three  parts,  with 
ready-made  boundaries,  and  utterly  fanciful  names.  There 
was  to  be,  first,  a  Republic  of  the  Rhone,  comprising  Vaud, 
Fribourg,  parts  of  Canton  Bern,  the  Valais,  and  Ticino; 
secondly,  a  County  of  Tell  (Tellgau),  for  the  Forest  Cantons; 
and  thirdly,  an  Helvetic  Republic,  for  the  Northern  and  East- 
ern Cantons.  Finally,  this  separatist  project  was  abandoned ; 
it  was  decided  to  create  a  completely  centralized  state,  the 
Helvetic  Republic,  one  and  indivisible. 

The  new  constitution,  promulgated  April  I2th,  1798,  first 
enunciated  a  series  of  general  principles.  They  are  now  uni- 
versally understood  and  clearly  established,  but  were  abso- 
lutely foreign  to  the  spirit  of  the  old  Confederation.  The  sum 
total  of  the  citizens  was  declared  sovereign  ;  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment was  to  be  a  representative  democracy ;  religious  lib- 
erty and  the  freedom  of  the  press  were  guaranteed ;  all 
hereditary  powers  and  titles  were  abolished,  as  well  as  the  last 
remnants  of  feudal  tenure  of  land.  "The  natural  liberty  of 
man  is  unalienable ;  it  has  no  other  limits  than  the  liberty  of 
every  other  man,"  says  the  text.  Radical  ideas,  such  as  these, 
came  like  a  revelation  to  men  who  had  suffered  under  systems 
of  local  tyranny,  which,  in  every  Canton,  had  bred  a  host  of 


302  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

economic  and  social  abuses.  The  very  boldness  of  these  decla- 
rations, their  irresistible  logic,  captivated  men's  minds.  A  new 
vista  of  justice  seemed  opened  to  the  oppressed.  A  great 
reform  wave  seemed  ready  to  dash  away  every  vestige  of  long- 
accumulated  wrongs. 

The  document  then  proceeded  to  determine  the  various 
attributes  of  government.  Two  legislative  bodies  were  insti- 
tuted, the  Senate  and  the  Grand  Council,  the  former  to  con- 
sist of  four  delegates  from  each  Canton,  and  the  latter  of 
representatives  chosen  according  to  population.  The  execu- 
tive power  was  lodged  in  the  Directory  of  five  members,  to  be 
elected  by  the  Senate  and  the  Grand  Council  conjointly.  Four 
ministers,  with  special  departments,  were  also  to  be  chosen  to 
act  with  the  Directory  in  the  administration  of  executive 
powers.  A  Supreme  Court,  consisting  of  one  judge  from  each 
Canton,  controlled  the  highest  judicial  functions.  A  small 
standing  army  of  paid  troops  was  to  be  maintained,  and  a  body 
of  militia  in  each  Canton. 

Moreover,  every  Canton  was  to  possess  a  Prefect,  who  repre- 
sented the  central  government,  besides  a  board  of  administra- 
tion and  a  cantonal  tribunal.  For  the  districts,  which  were 
subdivisions  of  the  Cantons,  sub-Prefects  were  appointed. 

Finally,  conditions  were  imposed  which  made  any  revision 
of  the  constitution  an  extremely  cumbersome  procedure. l 

It  will  always  remain  the  principal  merit  of  this  Constitu- 
tion that  it  abolished  utterly  all  distinctions  between  the  Can- 
tons and  their  subject  lands ;  that  it  placed  the  inhabitants  of 
the  whole  of  Switzerland  upon  an  equal  footing,  and  gave  them 
the  inestimable  privileges  of  religious  liberty  and  freedom  of 
the  press.  It  destroyed  the  last  vestiges  of  the  aristocratic 
organization  of  the  Cantons,  and  created  a  new  title  —  the 
Swiss  citizen.  But  unfortunately  these  benefits  were  accom- 
panied by  narrow,  vexatious  ordinances,  often  too  ridiculous  to 
deserve  serious  consideration,  but  of  such  a  nature  as  to  rouse 
all  the  deep-seated  prejudices  and  susceptibilities  of  the  Swiss 

Oechsli,  W.       Quellenbuch.     p.  417. 


THE  HELVETIC  REPUBLIC.  303 

people.  For  example,  the  uniforms  which  were  to  be  worn  by 
various  government  officials  were  designated  with  the  utmost 
precision,  and  often  in  the  worst  possible  taste.  Some  of  the 
descriptions  of  the  obligatory  costumes  are  a  positive  shock  to 
one's  aesthetic  nerves.  A  Senator  wore  a  blue  coat,  a  straw- 
coloured  waistcoat,  a  tri-color  scarf  with  fringes,  and  a  black 
hat  with  a  green  ostrich  feather.  A  solemn  decree  was 
issued,  making  the  national  colors  of  Switzerland  green,  red 
and  yellow.  We  shudder  to  think  of  this  combination,  and 
marvel  at  such  an  aberration  of  French  taste. 

On  the  whole,  the  failure  of  the  Constitution,  so  admirable 
in  its  enunciation  of  general  principles  and  so  logical  in  its 
arrangement,  must  be  ascribed  to  an  absolute  disregard  of  the 
historical  development  and  habits  of  the  Swiss  people.  It 
was  purely  artificial ;  it  was  super-imposed,  and  therefore 
unacceptable  to  a  people  accustomed,  through  centuries  of 
experience,  to  manage  their  own  affairs.  The  Old  Confedera- 
tion deserved  to  fall ;  but  the  Helvetic  Republic  was  not 
suited  to  succeed. 

One  by  one,  the  Swiss  Cantons  accepted  the  new  Constitu- 
tion, until  it  came  to  be  the  turn  of  the  Forest  Cantons. 
Here,  however,  the  French  met  with  a  determined  resistance ; 
all  efforts  to  introduce  the  foreign-made  organization  into  the 
cradle  of  Swiss  liberty  failed  in  the  presence  of  their  uncom- 
promising attitude.  Full  of  patriotic  fervor,  and  inspired  by  a 
sort  of  exaltation,  the  people  of  the  primitive  Cantons  prepared 
to  oppose  the  hated  innovation  by  force  of  arms.  Ten  thou- 
sand men  put  themselves  under  the  command  of  Alois  Reding, 
of  Schwiz,  ready  to  repulse  the  French.  Their  plan  of  cam- 
paign, however,  was  destined  to  result  in  failure,  for,  instead 
of  concentrating  their  forces  upon  a  few  threatened  points  and 
acting  entirely  upon  the  defensive,  they  dispersed  in  every 
direction  in  the  hope  of  winning  the  surrounding  country  to  their 
cause.  The  French,  on  the  other  hand,  advanced  with  30,000 
men,  from  Zurich  and  Luzern,  upon  the  village  of  Schwiz.  As 
in  the  olden  days  of  the  war  of  independence  against  Austria. 


304  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

so  now,  this  little  place  was  the  objective  point,  the  soul  and 
inspirer  of  the  rebellion.  There  were  a  number  of  hard- 
fought  preliminary  encounters  before  the  decisive  battle  was 
fought,  notably  one  in  the  Hohle  Gasse,  near  Kussnacht,  where 
the  historical  association  of  the  spot  fired  the  Swiss  to  deeds 
of  utmost  valor.  At  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Zurich  the  fight- 
ing was  also  very  sharp,  but  in  the  end  the  French  forced  their 
way  through,  until  the  Canton  of  Schwiz  was  completely 
surrounded. 

Now  came  the  supreme  moment  which  was  to  decide  the 
issue  of  the  campaign  and  the  fate  of  Schwiz.  Strangely 
enough  the  final  conflict  was  fought  upon  that  very  range  of 
Morgarten  which  had  witnessed  the  first  great  victory  of  the 
early  Confederates  against  Austria,  more  than  four  hundred 
and  fifty  years  before.  In  the  morning  of  the  decisive  day, 
the  French  advanced  from  the  Lake  of  Zurich,  and  penetrated 
as  far  as  Einsiedeln,  through  the  treachery  or  cowardice  of  a 
busybody  priest.  Reding  had  been  expecting  them  at  the 
pass  of  the  Schindelleghi,  but,  hearing  of  this  movement,  with- 
drew to  the  plateau  of  Rothenthurm,  where  he  received  rein- 
forcements from  Uri  and  the  Landsturn  of  Schwiz,  consisting 
of  old  men  and  beardless  youths.  In  the  meantime,  another 
detachment  of  French  troops  advanced  from  Aegeri,  climbed 
the  slopes  of  Morgarten,  and  took  possession  of  the  whole 
ridge.  The  Swiss  dislodged  the  French  from  this  ridge,  after 
severe  fighting,  and  then  turned,  with  fanatical  fury,  against 
the  enemy  coming  from  Einsiedeln.  They  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing back  even  this  force  with  great  loss,  but  when  night  fell 
the  conflict  was  undecided ;  for,  although  the  Swiss  had 
repulsed  the  French,  it  was  evident  that  they  could  not  long 
sustain  the  attacks  of  greater  numbers  continually  being  rein- 
forced. An  armistice  was  concluded  before  fighting  could  be 
renewed  next  day,  and  a  definite  peace  signed,  by  which  the 
Forest  Cantons  agreed  to  accept  the  Helvetic  Constitution, 
but  only  on  condition  that  all  their  ancient  liberties  should  be 
guaranteed  to  them. 


THE  HELVETIC  REPUBLIC.  305 

The  example  of  Schwiz  was  followed  by  Uri,  Glarus,  Zug, 
and  Unterwalden.  Resistance  was  offered  in  the  Upper 
Valais,  but  the  patriots  were  promptly  defeated  near  Sion. 
On  the  I4th  of  July,  1798,  the  deputies  from  the  eighteen 
Cantons,  which  at  the  time  composed  the  Republic,  met  in 
Aargau  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  constitution. 

Nidwalden  alone  refused  to  allow  its  citizens  to  take  the 
oath,  and  went  so  far  as  to  depose  the  Helvetic  officials  of 
the  Canton,  at  the  instigation  of  the  fanatical  local  clergy. 
Schauenburg,  the  French  general,  therefore,  on  the  6th  of 
September,  began  operations  against  the  stubborn  mountain- 
eers, with  a  force  of  between  12,000  and  16,000  veterans. 
Barely  2000  inexperienced  peasants  of  Nidwalden  stood 
opposed  to  him.  His  attempts  to  land  troops  at  Stansstadt 
and  Kehrsiten  having  proved  unsuccessful,  he  next,  on  the 
9th,  directed  his  attack  upon  Stans,  the  village-capital  of 
the  Canton,  advancing  by  way  of  the  valley  lying  between  the 
short  ridge  of  the  Mueterschwand  and  the  great  Stanserhorn. 
But  the  French  met  with  heroic  resistance,  their  advance  was 
effectually  blocked,  until  finally  they  penetrated  to  the  rear 
of  Stans  by  the  pass  of  Grossacherli.  This  had  been  left 
almost  undefended.  The  inhabitants  fought  in  desperation, 
with  a  fury  which  knew  no  bounds,  while  the  victors,  maddened 
by  the  long  resistance  they  had  encountered,  committed  the 
most  atrocious  acts  of  cruelty,  slaying  women,  children  and 
old  men  alike  in  their  rage.  Schauenburg  was  obliged  to 
write  to  General  Jordi :  "  We  have  lost  a  great  many  men, 
which  was  unavoidable,  considering  the  incredible  stubbornness 
of  these  people,  whose  fearlessness  became  positive  madness. 
.  .  .  It  was  one  of  the  hottest  days  I  have  ever  seen."1 
In  fact,  while  Nidwalden  lost  only  a  little  over  four  hundred 
persons,  the  French  mourned  several  thousand  men. 

The  battle  of  Stans  deserves  a  place  in  world-history,  apart 
altogether  from  its  character  of  an  heroic  defence.  It  gave 
Pestalozzi,  the  founder  of  modern  pedagogy,  an  opportunity 

1  Oechsli,  W.   Quellenbuch.     p.  447. 


306  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

to  put  into  practice  the  principles  which  have  since  made  his 
name  famous  the  world  over.  The  slaughter,  namely,  had  been 
so  great  at  Stans  that  many  orphaned  children  were  left  there 
in  a  state  of  the  utmost  misery.  In  view  of  this  lamentable 
state  of  things,  the  Helvetic  Directory  decided  to  found  an 
orphan  asylum  in  the  place,  and  to  put  Pestalozzi  in  charge, 
whose  extraordinary  success  as  a  teacher  of  children  in  his 
institute  of  Neuhof  had  already  attracted  attention.  Pesta- 
lozzi's  methods  at  Stans  elicited  the  admiration  of  Zschokke, 
then  government  commissioner,  and,  although  renewed  war- 
like disturbances  made  his  recall  necessary,  the  work  he 
accomplished  on  this  occasion  left  an  indelible  mark  upon 
the  educational  progress  of  mankind. 

No  sooner  was  the  Helvetic  Republic  firmly  established 
and  in  working  order,  than  it  displayed  a  positively  astounding 
legislative  activity.  Decree  followed  decree,  in  rapid  succes- 
sion. The  most  startling  innovations  were  adopted  in  every 
department  of  national  life,  in  finance,  in  the  administration 
of  justice,  and  in  the  relations  between  church  and  state. 
Many  truly  magnificent  conceptions  came  to  life ;  many  plans 
of  more  than  ordinary  greatness  were  ventilated  in  the  course 
of  parliamentary  debate.  Especially  fine  was  the  system  of 
education  elaborated  and,  in  a  measure,  put  into  practice  by 
the  enthusiastic  Stapfer.  One  of  the  happiest  strokes  of  the 
government  was  to  abolish  all  the  petty,  vexatious,  commercial 
restrictions,  which  the  individual  Cantons  had  imposed  for 
centuries,  and  to  declare  absolute  free  trade  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  republic.  It  was  significant  of  the 
barbaric  medieval  character  of  the  old  Swiss  Confederation 
that  torture,  as  a  means  of  punishment,  had  still  been  officially 
recognized,  until  the  Helvetic  government  expressly  decreed 
its  cessation. 

But  the  continued  occupation  of  the  country  by  French 
troops  became  a  tremendous  tax  upon  the  resources  of  the 
country.  The  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Council,  for  the  year 
1798,  are  full  of  complaints  from  various  representatives, 


THE  HELVETIC  REPUBLIC.  307 

describing  the  wanton  tyrannies  of  the  soldiery,  and  their 
unpunished  excesses.  The  Helvetic  Directory  remonstrated 
with  Rapinat,  the  French  commissioner,  but  he  answered  them 
in  insolent  terms ;  demanded  the  deposition  of  two  members  of 
the  Directory,  whom  he  could  not  browbeat  into  submission ; 
and  issued  a  proclamation,  declaring  null  and  void  all  resolu- 
tions passed  by  the  Helvetic  government,  which  were  contrary 
the  orders  given,  or  the  measures  taken,  by  the  commissioner  to 
himself  or  the  French  commander-in-chief.  The  situation  was 
humiliating  in  the  extreme  ;  the  Swiss  were  powerless  to  rid 
themselves  of  their  oppressors. 

As  though  to  emphasize  Switzerland's  abject  submission  to 
France,  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  was  concluded 
between  the  two  countries  on  the  iQth  of  August,  1799,  which 
marks  the  lowest  stage  in  her  abasement.  The  contracting 
parties  pledged  themselves  to  mutual  help  in  case  of  war. 
France  agreed  to  guarantee  the  Helvetic  constitution  against 
the  attacks  of  the  ancient  oligarchies,  and  to  give  back  a  few 
old  cannon  captured  in  the  late  disturbances.  In  return  for 
these  concessions,  the  Helvetic  Republic  was  obliged  to  cede 
Geneva  and  Porrentruy  to  France,  and  to  leave  two  great 
routes  always  open  to  the  passage  of  French  troops  and  mer- 
chandise, one  along  the  Rhine  to  the  lake  of  Constance  and 
thus  into  Germany  and  Austria,  and  another  up  the  Valais 
into  Italy.  In  truth,  these  conditions  converted  Switzerland 
into  a  conquered  province,  a  mere  vassal.  A  French  protecto- 
rate had  been  virtually  established. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SWITZERLAND   THE    BATTLE-FIELD    OF  EUROPE. 

DURING  those  dark  days  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
when  Switzerland  had  become  the  battle-field  of  Europe, 
and  her  independence  was  trampled  underfoot  alike  by  Napo- 
leon and  the  Allies,  Wordsworth  broke  forth  in  that  noble 
lament,  which  is  entitled,  in  the  collection  of  his  poems, 
"Thought  of  a  Briton  on  the  Subjugation  of  Switzerland." 
Coupling  the  fall  of  Venice  with  that  of  Switzerland  in  his 
mind,  he  thus  apostrophizes  Liberty :  — 

"  Two  voices  are  there :  one  is  of  the  sea, 
One  of  the  mountains ;  each  a  mighty  voice. 
In  both  from  age  to  age  thou  didst  rejoice; 
They  were  thy  chosen  music,  Liberty  1 " 

Although  the  Confederation  has  now  entirely  recovered  from 
the  humiliation  of  that  time,  the  Swiss  people  still  remember 
the  helpless  position  into  which  they  once  fell,  with  a  lively 
horror.  The  shame  and  suffering  which  the  year  of  1/99 
brought  upon  the  country  cannot  be  adequately  appreciated, 
until  we  examine  in  detail  the  operations  of  the  foreign 
armies. 

During  Napoleon's  absence  in  Egypt,  the  so-called  war  of 
the  second  coalition  broke  forth  in  Europe ;  Russia,  Austria, 
and  England,  with  some  of  the  lesser  powers,  uniting  against 
France.  An  elaborate  plan  of  campaign  was  drawn  up  by 
these  allies,  and  the  French  Directory  placed  six  armies  in  the 
field  to  oppose  its  execution,  of  which  Massena  commanded 

308 


THE  BATTLE-FIELD    OF  EUROPE.  309 

the  one  operating  in  Switzerland.  The  famous  Alpine  fighter, 
Lecourbe,  acted  under  Massena's  orders. 

Early  in  the  year,  war  seemed  inevitable.  France  and  Aus- 
tria gave  the  signal  for  hostilities  in  Graubiinden,  a  district 
which,  they  foresaw,  must  be  of  the  utmost  strategic  importance 
to  their  armies  in  the  coming  struggle.  At  first,  Massena  and 
Lecourbe  were  successful,  but,  by  degrees,  they  were  forced  to 
evacuate  the  Tyrol  and  Graubiinden,  and  fall  back  upon  the 
Forest  Cantons. 

In  the  meantime,  the  greatest  uncertainty  reigned  in  Swit- 
zerland itself.  The  adherents  of  the  Helvetic  Republic,  led  by 
the  indefatigable  La  Harpe,  were  for  declaring  war  against 
Austria,  and  raising  an  army  to  help  the  French.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  partisans  of  the  old  Confederation,  and  all  the 
reactionary  elements,  favored  an  Austrian  alliance.  The  coun- 
try was  hopelessly  divided,  and  could  not  be  brought  to  act  as 
a  unit.  In  the  end  it  remained  passive  under  the  terrible 
infliction.  In  some  battles,  Swiss  soldiers  fought  on  both 
sides,  like  their  ancestors,  the  mercenaries,  in  foreign  wars. 
Discontent,  persecutions,  and  wide-spread  misery  produced  pop- 
ular disturbances  in  almost  all  the  Cantons.  Switzerland  lay 
powerless  and  distracted  on  the  eve  of  the  storm. 

In  May,  two  Austrian  armies  advanced  into  the  country; 
one  of  40,000  men,  under  Archduke  Charles,  coming  over  the 
Rhine  from  Germany,  and  another  of  20,000,  under  Field- 
marshal  Von  Hotze,  a  Swiss  in  Austrian  service,  from  Grau- 
biinden. Lecourbe  retreated  into  the  Forest  Cantons,  and 
Massena  gathered  all  available  troops  around  him  in  Zurich. 
It  was  near  this  city  that  the  decisive  conflicts  of  the  war  in 
Switzerland  were  fought. 

As  the  Austrians  advanced,  Massena  saw  himself  unable  to 
maintain  his  position  within  the  walls  of  Zurich.  During  the 
4th,  and  until  the  ^th  of  June,  he  was  obliged  to  fall  back,  and 
finally  entrench  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  Uetliberg,  from 
which  he  could  effect  a  conjunction  with  Lecourbe  at  Luzern. 

Now  was  the  moment  for  the  Austrians  to  push  their  advan- 


310          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC, 

tage,  and  strike  a  telling  blow ;  but  there  was  disunion  amongst 
the  allies,  their  ambitions  conflicted,  mutual  jealousies  arose, 
and  Archduke  Charles  was  not  allowed  to  complete  his 
victory. 

A  change  of  plan  was  executed  at  headquarters.  It  was 
decided  that  Archduke  Charles  should  march  into  South  Ger- 
many ;  that  a  Russian  corps,  under  Korsakoff,  should  take  his 
place  at  Zurich ;  and  finally,  that  the  great  victorious  general, 
Suvaroff,  should  invade  Switzerland  from  Italy,  over  the  St. 
Gothard,  and  co-operate  with  Korsakoff  in  driving  the  French 
out  of  the  country.  Months  of  inaction  were  allowed  to  slip 
by,  while  these  changes  were  being  made ;  Massena  was  able 
to  recover  from  his  defeat,  and  to  elaborate  a  general  plan  of 
attack  all  along  the  line.  The  problems  involved  were  com- 
plicated and  necessitated  a  thorough  knowledge  of  topographi- 
cal conditions,  but  the  French  generals  surmounted  all 
difficulties  in  a  brilliant  manner,  carrying  to  a  successful  con- 
clusion one  of  the  most  masterly  military  achievements  of 
modern  times. 

On  the  i4th  and  I5th  of  August,  the  six  divisions  of  the 
French  army,  stationed  in  Switzerland,  were  simultaneously 
set  in  motion  against  the  opposing  Austrians.  The  fighting 
was  especially  severe  on  the  St.  Gothard  and  in  the  valley  of 
Urseren,  amid  the  Alpine  desolation  of  those  regions.  The 
rattle  of  musketry  and  clash  of  arms  re-echoed  from  the  preci- 
pices ;  hoarse  commands,  the  cries  of  the  wounded,  the  oaths  of 
an  infuriated  hand-to-hand  combat,  and  all  the  sounds  of  battle 
mingled  with  the  roar  of  mountain  torrents.  By  the  i6th,  the 
French  had  conquered  all  along  the  line. 

Still  there  was  danger  from  the  side  of  Suvaroff,  who  was 
hurrying  toward  the  St.  Gothard  from  Italy,  in  order  to 
take  the  French  in  the  rear,  while  Korsakoff  and  Hotze 
attacked  them  in  the  front.  Massena  determined  to  antici- 
pate SuvarofFs  arrival  by  making  an  offensive  movement 
upon  Ziirich.  The  Russian  conqueror  had  sent  word  to 
Korsakoff  and  Hotze  to  begin  their  attack  on  the  26th  of 


THE  BATTLE-FIELD    OF  EUROPE.  311 

September.  On  the  25th,  Massena  himself  moved  forward 
from  the  Uetliberg,  under  cover  of  a  thick  morning  fog,  driv- 
ing the  Russians  from  their  positions.  At  the  same  time, 
Hotze  was  attacked  and  routed  in  the  region  between  the 
lakes  of  Zurich  and  of  Walen.  Next  day  the  French  entered 
the  city  of  Zurich  and  the  Austrians  and  Russians  were  in 
full  retreat. 

But  this  victory  had  come  none  too  soon,  for,  on  the  same 
day,  Suvaroff  made  his  appearance  in  Uri,  having  fought  his 
way  over  the  St.  Gothard,  in  the  face  of  terrific  odds,  against 
the  French,  under  Lecourbe. 

On  the  24th,  he  had  reached  the  southern  foot  of  the  pass 
with  20,000  men.  A  detachment  of  6,000  had  been  detailed 
to  penetrate  into  Urseren,  by  the  Oberalp  Pass,  thus  taking 
the  French  in  the  flank.  By  almost  superhuman  exertions  the 
main  body  had  reached  the  top  of  the  St.  Gothard,  fighting 
every  foot  of  the  way.  Then  the  attack  upon  the  French  flank 
had  been  executed  ;  a  last  stupendous  struggle  had  taken  place 
at  the  Devil's  Bridge,  between  Andermatt  and  Goschenen,  and 
Suvaroff  was  momentarily  master  of  the  situation. 

But  Lecourbe's  resources  were  never  at  an  end.  He  hur- 
ried before  the  advancing  Russians,  and  gave  orders  that  all 
boats  of  every  description  should  be  removed  from  that 
branch  of  the  lake  of  Luzern  which  goes  by  the  name  of  the 
lake  of  Uri.  When,  therefore,  Suvaroff  arrived  at  the  water's 
edge,  to  march  upon  Schwiz  and  Zurich,  in  order  to  join  Kor- 
sakoff  and  Hotze,  he  found  that  he  had  strayed  into  a  blind 
alley.  There  was  no  road  along  the  Axenberg,  as  in  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  he  could  not  spare  the  time  to  construct  boats  to 
transport  his  army.  In  this  predicament,  he  resorted  to  an 
expedient  which  many  a  well-equipped  modern  tourist  might 
dread.  He  turned  aside  and,  with  bag  and  baggage,  climbed 
the  almost  pathless  Kinzigkulm,  in  order  to  reach  the  Muotta 
Valley.  When  he  arrived  there,  after  incredible  difficulties,  it 
was  only  to  hear  that  the  generals  he  was  going  to  meet  had 
been  defeated  and  were  in  retreat.  Filled  with  heartrending 


312  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

disappointment,  the  old  veteran,  victor  in  so  many  battles, 
saw  himself  constrained,  for  the  first  time,  to  retreat  before  the 
enemy.  He  straightway  comprehended  his  critical  situation, 
crossed  the  Pragel  Pass  to  Glarus  and  thus  made  his  escape, 
fighting  steadily  with  the  French,  who  swarmed  about  his  path. 
Only  those  who  have  themselves  followed  the  itinerary  of  this 
masterly  retreat  can  appreciate  the  dangers,  the  untold 
fatigues  and  privations,  and  the  horrors  which  Suvaroff  and 
his  brave  band  must  have  suffered.  Military  history  has  noth- 
ing more  heroic  to  show,  and  never  has  purely  Alpine  fighting 
been  managed  on  so  vast  a  scale. 

As  for  the  condition  of  the  Swiss  people,  while  this  Euro- 
pean struggle  was  being  waged  upon  their  soil,  it  was  nothing 
short  of  pitiable.  In  November,  1799,  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, Pichon,  wrote  to  his  government,  describing  the  wide- 
spread misery  which  he  saw  about  him.  "The  small  Cantons 
are  a  wilderness,"  he  said,  "The  French  army  has  been 
quartered  three  or  four  times  between  Glarus  and  the  St.  Goth- 
ard  within  six  months.  .  .  .  The  soldier  has  lived  upon 
the  provisions  of  the  inhabitants.  .  .  .  As  our  troops  did 
not  obtain  a  single  ration  from  France,  everything  was  eaten 
up  six  months  ago,  even  before  the  25,000  Russians  invaded 
this  devastated  region.  Urseren  alone  has  fed  and  lodged  in 
one  year  some  700,000  men.  .  .  .  The  richest  Cantons 
are  all  oppressed  by  requisitions  and  have  succumbed  under 
the  load  of  quartering  men  and  feeding  soldiers  and  horses. 
.  .  .  Everywhere  there  is  lack  of  fodder.  .  .  .  Every- 
where the  cattle  are  being  slaughtered."1 

The  French  army  remained  in  Switzerland  until  1802,  a 
curse  to  the  exhausted  country,  but  even  before  its  departure 
the  constitutional  problems  and  the  struggle  between  party 
factions,  which  the  war  had  somewhat  allayed,  were  renewed 
and  again  led  to  foreign  interference. 

1  Oechsli,  W.     Quellenbuch,  p.  468. 


CHAPTER  V. 
NAPOLEON'S  ACT  OF  MEDIATION. 

THE  conviction  had  now  forced  itself  upon  the  nation  that 
the  Helvetic  constitution  was  not  suited  to  the  require- 
ments of  Switzerland.  It  did  not  take  into  consideration  the 
ingrained  genius  of  the  people  for  local  self-government ;  it 
made  no  allowance  for  that  principle  of  federalism,  upon  which 
the  country  had  been  organized  for  more  than  five  centuries, 
and,  as  a  superimposed  foreign  product,  it  was  doomed  to 
prove  a  failure.  The  people  had  submitted  to  its  disturbing 
provisions,  because  they  were  powerless  to  resist  the  French 
bayonets,  but  they  were  ready  to  overthrow  the  odious  Hel- 
vetic government,  as  soon  as  the  soldiers,  upon  whom  it  relied 
for  support,  were  withdrawn. 

In  fact,  so  sure  were  the  Swiss  people  that  a  change  was 
bound  to  come,  that  they  already  fell  to  quarrelling  over  the 
form  which  the  next  constitution  was  to  assume.  Two  great 
parties  arose,  the  Federalists  and  the  Centralists,  representing 
respectively  the  principles  of  States  rights  and  of  centraliza- 
tion. In  point  of  fact,  every  federated  state,  from  its  very 
nature,  must  at  all  times  contain  parties  advocating  these 
opposite  tendencies.  It  is  only  in  moments  of  great  national 
excitement,  however,  that  they  take  up  bitterly  antagonistic 
positions.  A  great  political  crisis  was  at  hand  in  Switzerland. 
The  general  dissatisfaction  with  the  Helvetic  constitution  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  between  the  3Oth  of  April,  1801, 
and  the  28th  of  April,  1802,  e.g.,  in  one  year  only,  no  less 
than  four  drafts  of  constitutions  were  proposed  or  promulgated. 

When  finally  the  French  troops  left  Swiss  soil,  in  July  and 

313 


314  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

August  of  1802,  the  people  everywhere  arose  to  restore  the 
old  order  of  things.  There  were  armed  conflicts  in  Unterwal- 
den,  in  Zurich,  and  in  Aargau,  between  the  insurgents  and  the 
Helvetic  forces,  in  which  the  former  were  uniformly  successful. 
Bern  itself  surrendered  to  a  poorly  equipped  and  disorganized 
mob  of  peasants.  The  members  of  the  Helvetic  government 
fled  to  Lausanne,  while  an  old-time  Diet  of  the  Confederated 
States  was  held  in  Schwiz,  under  the  direction  of  Alois  Red- 
ing. A  victorious  army  of  the  Confederates  then  marched 
upon  Lausanne.  The  cause  of  the  Helvetic  Republic  seemed 
indeed  lost,  and  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  Confederation 
assured,  when  suddenly  both  sides  laid  down  their  arms  and 
disbanded,  as  though  struck  by  a  magic  wand. 

It  appears  that  a  plenipotentiary  had  unexpectedly  arrived 
in  Lausanne,  from  Paris,  bearing  an  offer  of  mediation  from 
Napoleon  himself,  now  enjoying  the  title  of  First  Consul. 
The  Swiss  people  were  invited  to  send  delegates  to  consult 
with  him,  regarding  a  new  constitution,  which  should  establish 
the  political  status  of  the  country  upon  a  sure  basis. 

In  his  proclamation,  Napoleon  expressed  himself  with 
brutal  and  characteristic  frankness,  concerning  Switzerland's 
helpless  condition  : 

"You  have  been  presenting  a  sad  spectacle  for  the  last 
two  years ;  opposing  factions  have  one  after  the  other  seized 
the  supreme  power,  they  have  marked  their  temporary  rule 
with  partisan  systems  which  afforded  proof  of  their  unfitness 
and  weakness. 

"In  the  course  of  the  tenth  year  [1/99],  your  government 
desired  to  have  withdrawn  the  small  number  of  French  troops 
which  were  in  Helvetia.  The  French  government  willingly 
took  this  occasion  to  honor  your  independence ;  but  soon 
after  your  parties  set  themselves  in  motion  with  renewed  fury ; 
Swiss  blood  has  been  shed  by  Swiss  hands. 

"You  have  quarreled  amongst  yourselves  for  three  years, 
without  arriving  at  an  understanding.  If  you  are  left  any 
longer  to  your  own  devices,  you  will  slay  yourselves  for 


NAPOLEON'S  ACT   OF  MEDIATION.  315 

another  three  years,  and  then  be  no  better  off.  Your  history 
also  proves  that  your  internal  wars  cannot  be  ended  except 
through  the  efficacious  intervention  of  France. 

"It  is  true,  I  had  resolved  not  to  interfere  again  in  your 
affairs.  I  saw  your  government  constantly  asking  my  advice, 
and  then  not  following  it,  and  several  times  misusing  my 
name,  according  to  their  interests  and  passions. 

"But  I  cannot,  I  must  not,  remain  impassive  under  the 
misfortune  to  which  you  are  a  prey.  I  withdraw  my  resolu- 
tion ;  I  will  be  the  mediator  in  your  quarrel,  and  my  media- 
tion shall  be  efficacious,  as  is  worthy  of  the  great  nation  in 
whose  name  I  speak." 

There  is  true  Napoleonic  assurance  in  these  words.  The  I 
Consul  does  not  mince  matters,  but  boldly  asserts  his  right 
to  dictate  to  the  Swiss,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  ingeniously 
places  them  under  an  obligation  to  him  for  exerting  this 
right.  After  stating  certain  preliminary  conditions  and  issuing 
unmistakable  commands,  Napoleon  closed  his  proclamation 
with  an  invocation,  full  of  Gallic  bombast  and  noisome  cant : 

"Inhabitants  of  Helvetia!  Hope  again!  !  !  —  Your  native 
country  is  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice;  it  shall  be  instantly 
withdrawn  from  it. 

"Every  sensible  man  must  be  persuaded  that  the  media- 
tion which  I  am  accepting,  is,  for  Helvetia,  a  kindness  of  that 
Providence,  which  has  always  watched  over  the  existence  and 
independence  of  your  nation,  amid  so  many  subversions  and 
shocks,  and  that  this  mediation  is  the  only  means  which 
remains  open  to  you  of  preserving  the  one  or  the  other."1 

In  obedience  to  this  proclamation,  some  sixty  Swiss  emissa- 
ries arrived  in  Paris,  in  the  month  of  December,  forming  a  Con- 
sulta,  to  draw  up  a  new  constitution.  On  the  loth  of  that  month, 
Napoleon  sent  them  a  writing,  setting  forth  the  points  to  be 
deliberated  upon,  and  indicating  clearly  what  he  insisted  upon 
their  fulfilling.  On  the  I2th,  he  addressed  a  committee  from 
their  midst,  in  the  castle  of  St.  Cloud.  On  this  occasion,  the 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.     p.  470-471. 


316  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

First  Consul  displayed  so  accurate  a  knowledge  of  the  internal 
affairs  of  Switzerland,  and  showed  so  marvelous  an  appreciation 
of  its  needs,  that  his  hearers  were  dumfounded.  In  fact,  never 
have  the  peculiar  problems  of  that  country  been  explained  with 
more  unfailing  penetration.  If  the  manner  of  the  address  was 
calculated  to  wound  the  pride  of  the  Swiss  emissaries,  the 
advice  which  was  given,  was  sound  and  to  the  point. 

"The  more  I  thought  over  the  nature  of  your  country,"  said 
Napoleon,  "the  stronger  became  my  conviction  that  it  was 
impossible  to  subject  it  to  any  uniform  system  on  account  of 
the  diversity  of  its  component  parts ;  everything  drives  you  to 
federalism. 

"  Switzerland  can  no  longer  play  an  important  part  amongst 
the  states  of  Europe,  as  in  the  days  when  no  great  neighbors 
stood  beside  her,  when  France  was  divided  into  sixty  principal- 
ities, Italy  into  forty. 

"You  need  rest,  independence,  and  a  neutrality  acknowl- 
edged by  all  the  powers  surrounding  you. 

"  I  speak  to  you,  as  though  I  were  myself  a  Swiss ;  the  prin- 
ciple of  federation  is  uncommonly  advantageous  for  small  states. 
I,  myself,  am  born  a  mountaineer ;  and  I  know  the  spirit  which 
springs  from  this."1 

Such  language  carried  conviction,  or  at  least  silenced  oppo- 
sition. From  first  to  last,  the  emissaries  were  made  to  under- 
stand that  their  services  were  more  honorary  than  required, 
that  Napoleon's  ideas  would  triumph  in  the  end,  whether  they 
acceded  or  not.  Their  humiliation  was  great,  but  neither  Fed- 
eralists nor  Centralists  dared  object,  arid  on  the  iQth  of  Febru- 
ary, the  Act  of  Mediation  was  formally  signed,  and  became  the 
organic  law  of  Switzerland. 

In  truth,  this  new  constitution  was  a  clever  compromise 
between  the  extreme  demands  of  the  Federalists  and  the  Cen- 
tralists. It  restored  the  sovereignty  of  the  Cantons,  but  main- 
tained a  central  government ;  it  granted  the  Cantons  all  the 
powers  which  were  not  expressly  attributed  to  the  Federal 

1Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  472-473. 


NAPOLEON'S  ACT   OF  MEDIATION.  317 

authorities,  but  reinstated  the  did  Diet,  with  enlarged  func- 
tions ;  and  it,  therefore,  contained  the  constitutions  of  all  the 
nineteen  Cantons  which  then  composed  the  Confederation,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Confederation  itself. 

The  contributions  of  the  several  Cantons  in  men  and  money 
were  carefully  enumerated.  Import  tariffs  were  left  to  be 
managed  by  the  Cantons,  but  the  Diet  determined  the  uni- 
form character  of  coinage.  Six  Cantons  were  also  selected 
from  the  rest :  Fribourg,  Bern,  Solothurn,  Basel,  Zurich,  and 
Luzern,  to  be  Directorial  Cantons  or  Vororte.  The  Diet  was 
to  be  held  in  each,  in  annual  rotation ;  and  the  Schultheiss,  or 
Biirgermeister,  of  each  capital  became  in  turn  President  of  the 
Confederation,  with  the  title  of  Landammann  of  Switzerland. 
Each  Canton  sent  one  representative  to  the  Diet,  with  pre- 
pared instructions,  but  the  Cantons  possessing  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants  had  two  votes,  an  attempt  being 
thus  made  to  give  the  element  of  population  due  consideration. 1 

On  the  whole,  the  Act  of  Mediation  must  be  considered  a 
vast  improvement  over  the  Helvetic  Constitution.  As  an 
attempt  to  reconcile  the  opposing  parties  it  was  practically 
successful,  and  gave  the  country  comparative  immunity  from 
political  broils.  At  the  same  time,  one  misses  those  magnifi- 
cent utterances  on  popular  rights  contained  in  the  Helvetic 
Constitution,  and  one  is  shocked  at  the  almost  royal  attributes 
assigned  to  the  Swiss  Landammann.  It  was  evident  that  a 
suitable  stop-gap  had  been  found,  but  that  a  permanent  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulties  in  which  the  country  was  plunged  yet 
remained  to  be  discovered. 

At  all  events,  Switzerland  experienced  quite  a  revival  of  the 
arts  and  sciences  under  the  benign  influence  of  peace.  Cul- 
ture, which  had  been  rudely  pushed  aside  by  war,  was  able  to 
reassert  itself.  Several  writers  graced  the  somewhat  barren 
fields  of  Swiss  belles-lettres,  historical  writing  flourished,  scien- 
tists explored  the  wonders  of  the  Alpine  world,  and  great 
engineering  works  were  inaugurated.  All  this  time,  however, 

1  Oechsli,  W.    Quellenbuch,  p.  474-478. 


318  THE  RISE    OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Switzerland  was  treated  as  a  vassal  by  France.  Napoleon, 
now  proclaimed  Emperor,  insulted  and  browbeat  her  states- 
men, violated  her  neutrality,  which  he  conceived  to  be  a  fiction 
to  be  used  for  his  own  purposes,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  issue 
direct  commands  to  the  Diet.  He  had  now  developed  into  a 
general  European  bully.  It  was  not  likely,  therefore,  that  he 
would  spare  a  small,  defenceless  country  like  Switzerland, 
whose  territory  possessed  the  utmost  value  from  a  strategic 
point  of  view. 

The  culmination  of  Napoleon's  contempt  for  established 
rights  was  reached,  when,  on  Nov.  i5th,  1810,  he  issued  a 
decree,  incorporating  the  Valais  into  the  French  Empire,  with 
the  name  of  the  Department  du  Simplon,  on  the  plea  that  the 
possession  of  the  Simplon  route  was  necessary  to  France  and 
Italy,  that  eighteen  million  francs  had  been  spent  upon  the 
road,  by  the  French,  and  that  anarchy  reigned  supreme  in  that 
country.  At  another  time,  the  whole  Swiss  people  would  have 
risen  in  arms  to  resist  this  spoliation,  now  they  contented 
themselves  with  unavailing  protests.  Their  abasement  was 
complete.  They  were  even  obliged  to  submit  helplessly  to  the 
sufferings  inflicted  upon  them  by  Napoleon's  insane  Continen- 
tal blockade  against  British  trade. 

But  the  hour  of  deliverance  was  at  hand.  After  the  tyrant's 
retreat  from  Russia,  came  the  great  war  of  liberation,  and  then 
the  Congress  of  Vienna,  which  secured  Switzerland  once  more 
an  independent  position  amongst  the  European  powers. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   PERIOD   OF   REACTIONARY   RESTORATION. 

IT  was  at  this  point,  when  the  lowest  degree  in  the  scale  had 
been  reached,  that  the  signatory  powers  at  the  Congress 
at  Vienna,  on  the  2oth  of  March,  1815,  announced  their  inten- 
tion of  drawing  up  an  act  which  should  guarantee  the  per- 
petual neutrality  of  Switzerland.  On  the  2/th  of  May,  the 
Swiss  Diet  accepted  this  offer,  but  there  was  a  delay  of  several 
months  before  the  pledge  given  by  the  powers  was  fulfilled ; 
for  the  great  struggle  at  Waterloo,  which  took  place  in  the 
meantime,  overshadowed  every  other  phase  of  the  European 
situation.  Finally,  on  the  2Oth  of  November,  the  document, 
which  was  to  exert  so  potent  an  influence  upon  the  destinies 
of  the  Swiss  people,  was  approved  by  the  Congress.  "The 
signatory  powers  of  the  declaration  made  at  Vienna  on  the 
2Oth  of  March,"  says  the  text,  "  by  the  present  act  make  a 
formal  and  authentic  acknowledgment  of  the  perpetual  neu- 
trality of  Switzerland,  and  they  guarantee  to  her  the  integrity 
and  inviolability  of  her  territory  within  her  new  boundaries." 
This  agreement  is  further  on  declared  to  be  "  in  the  true  inter- 
ests of  the  politics  of  all  Europe."  l 

If  any  one  should  be  tempted  to  say  that  even  these  solemn 
promises  were  insufficient  to  establish  the  neutrality  of  Swit- 
zerland upon  an  unquestioned  legal  basis,  surely  the  array  of 
great  names  appended  to  this  document  ought  to  remove  all 
doubts.  Amongst  them  there  was  Metternich,  for  Austria  ; 

1  Hilty.     La  Neutralite  de  la  Suisse.     Pamphlet,  p.  61-62. 

319 


320          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Richelieu,  for  France;  Wellington,  for  England;  Humboldt, 
for  Prussia  ;  and  Capo  d'Istria,  for  Russia.  It  would  be  a 
strange  forgetfulness  of  the  past  which  could  make  the  powers 
declare  null  and  void  an  act  signed  by  historic  names  such  as 
these.  The  person  who  actually  prepared  the  text  was  the 
Swiss  representative  at  the  Congress,  Charles  Pictet  de  Roche- 
mont,  a  Genevese ;  the  task  having  been  first  assigned  to 
Stratford  Canning,  who  preferred  to  leave  it  to  Pictet. 

There  was  no  condition  appended  to  this  declaration  of 
neutrality  beyond  the  natural  one  that  the  Swiss  Diet  should 
agree  to  the  terms  of  the  proposed  transaction,  a  duty  which 
that  body  promptly  performed.  At  least  one  of  these 
accepted  terms  deserves  to  be  noticed,  on  account  of  the  nego- 
tiations to  which  it  has  since  given  rise,  and  the  dangers  to 
European  peace  with  which  it  is  still  fraught.  This  so-called 
"  question  of  Savoy "  resulted  from  a  compromise  effected  at 
this  time  among  the  conflicting  interests  of  France,  Switzer- 
land, and  the  king  of  Sardinia.  During  the  discussions  of  the 
Congress,  it  was  proposed,  and  very  properly,  to  give  Switzer- 
land the  whole  of  the  geographical  basin  between  the  Jura  and 
the  Alps,  in  order  that  she  might  have  a  natural  and  logical 
frontier;  but,  instead  of  this  simple  solution  of  the  difficulty, 
the  representatives  at  the  Congress  ended  by  setting  up  a 
complicated  and  irrational  system  of  apportionment ;  France 
was  allowed  to  retain  parts  of  this  basin,  and  a  zone  was 
created  in  northern  Savoy,  which  should  be  included  in  the 
neutrality  of  Switzerland,  "in  the  same  manner  as  though  it 
belonged  to  her." l 

The  events  which  had  led  up  to  this  epoch-making  declara- 
tion of  perpetual  neutrality  were  somewhat  complicated,  for 
Switzerland  reflected  every  phase  of  the  struggle  going  on 
about  her  frontiers. 

As  early  as  Nov.  I5th,  1813,  the  Diet  had  proclaimed  the 
neutrality  of  the  country,  and,  in  a  half-hearted  manner,  even 
made  preparations  to  defend  it  against  all  comers.  But  when 
1  Hilty.  La  Neutralite  de  la  Suisse,  p.  62. 


THE  PERIOD    OF  REACTION.  321 

the  allies,  in  the  course  of  the  war  of  liberation,  desired  to  use 
Switzerland  for  a  flank  movement  upon  the  French,  the  Swiss 
army  retreated  from  the  frontier,  and  allowed  130,000  Austri- 
ans  to  pass  through,  leaving  in  their  track  starvation  and 
disease.  In  the  meantime,  all  the  reactionary  elements  were 
preparing  to  side  openly  with  the  allies,  to  overthrow  the  exist- 
ing order,  and  to  plunge  Switzerland  back  into  feudal  times. 
They  were  sustained  in  their  efforts  by  a  certain  Saxon,  Count 
von  Senfft-Pilsach,  an  agent  of  Metternich,  who  had  familiarized 
himself  with  Swiss  politics  by  a  residence  of  several  months 
in  the  country.  In  fact,  the  only  leader  amongst  the  allies, 
who  opposed  these  subversive  designs  of  the  great  Austrian 
diplomat,  was  the  then  liberal  Czar  of  Russia,  Alexander  I. 
He  had  had  as  tutor  in  his  youth  Frederic  Caesar  La  Harpe, 
the  patriot  of  the  Helvetic  Revolution,  and  his  sympathies  for 
Switzerland  had  thereby  always  been  kept  active. 

On  the  22d  of  December,  1813,  Bern,  now  once  more  con- 
trolled by  the  old  patrician  element,  declared  the  Act  of  Medi- 
ation null  and  void,  as  far  as  she  was  concerned,  and  reinstated 
the  surviving  members  of  the  old  Council  who  had  served  before 
the  Helvetic  Revolution.  She  even  attempted  once  more  to 
rule  over  the  Cantons  of  Vaud  and  Aargau  as  subject  lands. 
A  week  later,  the  Swiss  Diet  also  denounced  the  Act  of  Medi- 
ation. The  work  of  driving  out  the  new  and  letting  in  the 
old,  thereafter  began  in  earnest.  Of  course  the  usual  party 
rivalries  and  recriminations  did  not  fail  to  make  their  appear- 
ance. But  after  the  country  had  several  times  seemed  on  the 
verge  of  civil  war,  and  the  famous  Long  Diet  had  been  in  ses- 
sion from  the  2Qth  of  December,  1813,  to  the  3ist  of  August, 
1815,  a  year  and  eight  months,  the  twenty-two  States  compos- 
ing the  Confederation,  on  the  7th  of  August,  1815,  signed  a 
Bundesvertrag,  or  a  Federal  Pact.1 

As  the  name  implies,  the  agreement  thus  concluded  was 
not  a  constitution,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  although 
it  served  that  purpose,  but  was,  in  reality,  a  sort  of  bargain 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.     p.  487. 


322  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

effected  by  independent  sovereign  states.  Valais,  Geneva, 
and  Neuchatel  were  now  admitted  as  equal  members,  the  last 
two  for  the  first  time.  Moreover,  all  efforts  of  the  old  States 
to  reduce  their  former  subject  lands  into  submission  failed 
utterly,  for  the  free  spirit  of  the  French  revolution  had  not 
passed  over  the  land  altogether  in  vain. 

As  for  the  rest,  the  Pact  brought  into  being  a  loose,  dis- 
jointed Confederation.  It  was  not  devoid  of  certain  merits. 
As  in  the  Act  of  Mediation,  the  contributions  of  the  various 
Cantons  in  men  and  money  were  carefully  regulated  ;  a  Federal 
board  of  arbitration  was  established  to  settle  internal  difficul- 
ties ;  the  Diet  was  entrusted  with  a  few  new  functions,  but 
unfortunately  not  given  the  necessary  powers  to  enforce  its 
acts ;  and  all  the  representatives  were  once  more  limited  to 
one  vote  apiece,  whatever  the  size  of  their  Cantons.  Zurich, 
Bern,  and  Luzern  remained  Vororte,  in  rotation  every  two 
years,  but  the  ill-suited  office  of  Landammann  of  Switzerland 
was  deservedly  abolished.  Amongst  the  least  commendable 
provisions  was  the  one  guaranteeing  the  maintenance  of  mon- 
asteries and  chapters  within  the  Confederation,  thus  pledging 
the  Federal  government  to  interfere  in  local,  Cantonal  affairs, 
and  paving  the  way  for  a  religious  question  which  eventually, 
in  1848,  produced  civil  war.  It  is  also  interesting  to  notice 
that  the  Federal  war  chest  was  to  be  kept  filled  by  the  pro- 
ceeds from  customs  duties  on  imports,  this  affording  another 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  war,  or  the  fear  of  war,  and  high 
tariffs  almost  always  go  hand  in  hand,  reacting  upon  cnch 
other  and  intensifying  each  others'  effects.  Finally,  one  is 
gratified  to  read  that  no  subject  lands  and  no  privileged  polit- 
ical classes  would  be  tolerated  hereafter,  an  enunciation  which 
still  savors  of  the  refreshing  radicalism  of  the  Revolutionary 
period. 

Thus  did  Switzerland,  after  many  vicissitudes,  relapse  into 
an  era  of  reaction.  It  was  but  natural,  after  the  brusque 
introduction  of  sweeping  changes  had  spent  itself,  after  the 
friction  of  new  ideas,  constantly  clashing  with  the  old,  had 


THE  PERIOD    OF  REACTION.  323: 

produced  fatigue,  that  the  country  should  long  for  rest. 
Hence  the  period  from  1815-1830,  while  it  was  marked  by  a 
strange  disregard  of  all  the  great  political  principles  which  the 
French  revolution  had  brought  into  the  world,  was,  at  the 
same  time,  valuable  to  Switzerland  as  a  breathing  spell,  as  a 
time  of  repose  and  recuperation. 

The  centre  of  gravity,  as  it  were,  was  again,  as  in  pre- 
revolutionary  days,  shifted  from  the  central  government  to  the 
Cantons.  The  whole  formed  a  loose  Confederation,  with  only 
an  ill-defined,  latent  national  sentiment  to  hold  it  together. 
As  there  was  no  foreign  enemy  to  evoke  the  spirit  of  unity,  a 
centrifugal  force  whirled  the  Cantons  apart.  They  amended 
their  constitution  on  reactionary  lines,  displaying  the  greatest 
fear  of  all  innovations  in  popular  rights.  The  censorship  of 
the  press  was  reinstated ;  the  Jesuits  were  permitted  to  carry 
on  diplomatic  intrigues  with  the  local  governments ;  and  the 
mercenary  system  flourished  once  more  without  let  or  hinder- 
ance,  Swiss  soldiers  in  great  numbers  seeking  service  in  Hol- 
land, France,  and  with  the  Pope.  After  all,  these  reactionary 
tendencies  were  not  confined  to  Switzerland,  but  were  charac- 
teristic of  the  whole  of  Europe  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon, 
resulting  from  the  discredit  which  had  been  thrown  upon  the 
principles  of  the  French  Revolution.  In  fact,  the  little  Con- 
federation became  a  place  of  refuge  for  many  political  fugi- 
tives from  neighboring  countries,  notably  from  Germany,  where 
the  restored  monarchs  filled  the  prisons  with  discontented 
subjects. 

But  even  during  these  years  of  apparent  stagnation,  forces 
were  at  work  which  were  destined  to  reawaken  a  spirit  of  indi- 
vidual liberty,  and  by  a  slow,  and  in  the  main  peaceful  evolu- 
tion, to  convert  the  Confederation  into  a  closely  knitted  union 
of  real  democracies.  A  number  of  societies  contributed  most 
effectually  to  this  end,  principally  the  patriotic  student  associ- 
ation of  Zofingen,  so-called  from  the  place  where  its  first  gath- 
ering was  held.  It  proved  a  worthy  successor  to  the  famous 
Helvetic  Society  of  pre-revolutionary  times.  Numerous  gym- 


524  THE  RISE    OF   THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

>i 

nastic  and  singing  societies  also  furthered  the  national 
aspirations,  as  well  as  the  annual  Federal  Shooting  Match 
(Schutzenfest),  which  was  now  first  instituted. 

Thus  did  the  slumbering  spirit  of  liberty  revive  and  herald 
the  advent  of  better  things. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DEMOCRATIC  REFORMS  IN  THE  CANTONS. 

IT  was  a  French  revolution  which,  in  1798,  caused  the 
old  Swiss  Confederation  to  collapse,  and  it  was  another 
French  revolution  which,  in  1830,  gave  the  signal  for  political 
regeneration  in  Switzerland  on  democratic  lines.  From  her 
very  position  Switzerland  has  always  been  particularly  sensi- 
tive to  the  tendencies  manifesting  themselves  about  her, 
reflecting  in  her  long  career  every  phase  of  European  history. 
It  was  only  natural,  therefore,  that  she  should  feel  the  exhilar- 
ation of  new  aspirations,  when  the  reactionary  cloud,  which 
had  brooded  over  Europe,  began  to  lift,  as  the  breeze  of  liberty 
blew  fresh  from  the  streets  of  Paris. 

In  true  Teutonic  fashion  the  people  came  together  in  open- 
air  assemblies,  to  formulate  their  demands  for  further  rights, 
and,  when  necessary,  to  make  arrangements  for  enforcing 
them.  It  was  a  magnificent  movement,  bearing  a  striking  like- 
ness to  the  revival  of  political  thought  amongst  the  farmers  of 
the  United  States  in  the  Grange  and  the  Alliance.  There 
were  the  same  wrongs  of  special  privilege  to  redress,  the  same 
organized  oppression  from  the  middle  class,  living  as  non-pro- 
ducers on  their  interest,  and  the  same  political  tyranny  of  the 
politicians  to  break.  In  Switzerland,  however,  the  struggle 
had  first  to  be  directed  against  the  reactionary,  almost  feudal 
administrations  in  the  various  Cantons,  and  was  not  carried  on 
so  much  against  plutocracy,  as  the  industrial  uprising  of  recent 
years  in  the  United  States  has  been  conducted. 

The  first  of  these  patriotic  meetings  of  protest  against  the 
aristocratic  governments,  was  held  in  the  Canton  of  Thurgau 

325 


326          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

on  the  22d  of  October,  1830.  A  petition  for  the  revision  of 
the  constitution  was  drawn  up,  and  pressed  upon  the  author- 
ities with  so  much  vigor,  that  the  desired  changes  were  soon 
after  carried  into  effect.  An  assembly,  held  at  Uster,  in  the 
Canton  of  Zurich,  likewise  sent  a  memorial  to  the  govern- 
ment with  clearly  expressed  demands.  The  form  of  address 
to  the  authorities,  which  had  become  compulsory  during  the 
period  of  reaction,  shows  in  what  abject  submission  the  people 
were  held. 

"  Right  Honorable,  Highly  esteemed,  Squire  Biirgermeister ! 
Highly  esteemed,  Highly  honored  Sirs  and  Masters  ! "  Then 
followed  a  list  of  desired  reforms.  Amongst  them  was  a  new 
electoral  system  with  fair  representation  ;  the  constitution  was 
to  be  declared  valid  only  after  it  had  been  sanctioned  by  the 
people  voting  in  popular  assemblies ;  a  demand  was  made  for 
freedom  of  the  press ;  for  publicity  of  the  sessions  and  minutes 
of  the  Cantonal  Council ;  the  right  of  petition ;  also  a  reduc- 
tion of  specified  taxes;  the  introduction  of  a  general  income 
tax,  and  the  improvement  of  the  schools.1 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  patriots  clamored  for  some  of  the 
most  elementary  rights  of  freemen,  as  well  as  for  other  reforms 
of  more  modern  aspect.  The  people  in  other  Cantons, 
encouraged  by  this  example,  met  to  bring  pressure  upon  their 
governments,  and,  by  the  middle  of  December,  nine  Cantons 
had  revised  their  constitutions  in  a  liberal  sense.  In  general, 
these  popular  proceedings  were  dignified  and  peaceful,  such 
disturbances  as  did  occur  being  due  to  an  insane  attempt  of  the 
authorities  to  resist  the  express  will  of  the  people.  Thus 
amid  intense  excitement  the  fateful  year  of  1830  passed,  and 
left  Switzerland  already  half  regenerated.  During  the  next 
year,  however,  there  were  serious  conflicts  in  the  Cantons  of 
Basel,  Schwiz,  and  Neuchatel.  The  first  was  eventually  divi- 
ded into  Baselstadt  and  Baselland,  two  half  Cantons  which 
have  remained  apart  ever  since.  In  Schwiz,  the  difficulties 
were  patched  up  after  several  failures,  and  in  Neuchatel  the 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.     p.  490. 


DEMOCRATIC  REFORMS  IN  THE  CANTONS.      327 

situation  was  further  complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Canton 
occupied  the  abnormal,  paradoxical  position  of  being  a  Prus- 
sian principality  and  a  member  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  at 
the  same  time. 

Of  course  these  local  changes  could  not  fail  to  influence  the 
Federal  government.  There  were  loud  cries  for  a  revision  of 
the  Federal  constitution,  and  several  attempts  were,  in  fact, 
made  by  the  Liberal  representatives.  But  in  every  case  they 
were  checkmated  by  the  opposing  Conservatives,  who  viewed 
with  dismay  the  steady  growth  of  radical  doctrines.  The  Diet 
declared  that  it  could  not  guarantee  the  maintenance  of  special 
Cantonal  constitutions. 

Thereupon,  on  the  i/th  of  March,  1832,  seven  Cantons: 
Luzern,  Zurich,  Solothurn,  St.  Gallen,  Aargau,  and  Thurgau, 
agreed  to  a  concordat,  known  as  the  Siebnerkonkordat.1  The 
object  of  this  unfortunate  union  was  to  guarantee  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  constitutions  of  the  contracting  parties,  which  task 
the  Diet  was  unable  to  perform.  Although  admission  was  left 
open  to  all  the  other  Cantons,  as  a  matter  of  fact  none  of  them 
joined,  and  the  movement,  therefore,  remained  one  of  seces- 
sion. 

It  was  a  fatal  step  to  take,  and  a  dangerous  precedent  to 
set.  It  opened  the  way  for  other  separatist  changes  in  the 
future  ;  it  created  a  wheel  within  a  wheel.  By  Nov.  I4th, 
five  conservative  Cantons  withdrew  from  participation  in  the 
Federal  Diet:  Uri,  Schwiz,  Unterwalden,  Baselstadt,  Neucha- 
tel,  and  Valais.  They  united  in  a  League  of  Sarnen,  and  so 
the  division  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  into  two  hostile,  bit- 
terly antagonistic,  minor  Confederations  was  complete.  An 
ominous  state  of  affairs,  calculated  to  make  every  patriot  trem- 
ble for  the  result,  and  full  of  awful  possibilities,  since  the  two 
Confederations  could  be  at  any  moment  converted  into  two 
camps. 

Both  sides  were  at  fault,  and  yet  it  is  difficult,  at  this  day,  to 
pronounce  unconditionally  against  their  actions,  representing, 

1  Oechsli,  W.   Quellenbuch,  p.  495. 


328  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

as  they  did,  opposite  and  apparently  irreconcilable  tendencies. 
The  Liberals  sought  above  all  to  make  sure  of  the  gains  they 
had  made  in  a  radical  sense ;  the  Conservatives  found  them- 
selves out  of  place  in  a  Diet  which  was  always  held  in  a 
Vorort  belonging  to  the  faction  of  the  Siebnerkonkordat.  One 
means  of  reconciliation  alone  remained,  and  that  was  a  revis- 
ion of  the  Federal  Constitution,  which  should  remedy  these 
just  grievances.  But  in  the  midst  of  prevailing  dissensions 
the  attempt  to  carry  any  revision  to  a  successful  issue,  fell  per- 
fectly flat ;  the  draft  of  a  revised  constitution  was  overwhelm- 
ingly rejected  by  the  people.  When,  however,  the  Cantons  of 
Basel  and  Schwiz  again  became  the  scenes  of  dangerous  dis- 
turbances, the  Federal  authorities  resolved  to  intervene  in  the 
interest  of  peace.  They  put  an  army  into  the  field  to  quell 
the  uprising,  dissolved  the  League  of  Sarnen,  and  compelled 
the  refractory  states  to  send  representatives  to  the  Diet. 
Quiet  was  thus  momentarily  re-established. 

But  a  new  danger  did  not  fail  to  show  itself  soon  after. 
Heretofore  the  Swiss  Confederation  had  been  divided  on 
purely  political  questions ;  the  situation  was  now  to  become 
further  complicated  by  religious  issues,  always  the  most  bit- 
terly contested  and  the  most  difficult  to  allay. 

There  was  first  the  incident  of  Strauss,  the  famous  free- 
thinker, in  Zurich.  In  1839,  tne  authorities  of  that  city  called 
Dr.  D.  F.  Strauss  from  Tubingen  to  the  chair  of  dogmatic 
theology,  in  the  newly  formed  university  of  Zurich.  It  was 
purposed  thereby  to  start  a  great  religious  reform  movement 
to  keep  pace  with  the  political  regeneration  of  the  times,  but 
a  storm  of  indignation  rose  from  all  parts  of  the  Canton  to  pro- 
test against  this  violation  of  the  Christian  faith,  as  it  was 
called.  In  a  circular,  issued  by  a  Committee  of  Faith,  the  call 
of  Strauss  was  declared  to  be  "  so  convulsing  an  event  for  the 
great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Canton  of  Zurich,  that 
all  minds  saw  themselves  filled  with  horror  as  though  smitten 
by  an  electric  stroke."1  The  instant  dismissal  of  the  free- 

1  Oechsli.  W.    Quellenbuch.     p.  498 


DEMOCRATIC  REFORMS  IN  THE  CANTONS.      329 

thinker  was  demanded,  and  the  appointment  of  a  true  believer 
in  his  place.  In  the  end  Strauss  was  asked  to  resign,  and  a 
life  annuity  awarded  him,  but  the  sensation  created  by  this 
incident  was  tremendous.  It  was  felt  throughout  the  Confed- 
eration, and  only  served  to  alienate  still  more  the  conservative 
Cantons  from  the  radical  ones. 

An  occurrence  of  still  greater  gravity  was  the  action  of  the 
authorities  of  Aargau,  in  decreeing  the  abolition  of  all  monas- 
teries and  nunneries  within  their  Canton.  It  was  a  spark 
which  set  the  whole  country  ablaze.  Protests  came  from 
every  quarter;  not  only  from  the  conservative  Cantons,  but 
also  from  the  Papal  Nuncio,  and  even  from  the  emperor 
of  Austria,  whose  ancestors  had  founded  Muri,  one  of  the 
monasteries  in  question.  The  difficulty  was  temporarily 
compromised  by  limiting  the  decree  of  abolition  to  the  monas- 
teries, leaving  the  nunneries  in  existence.  In  this  a  majority 
of  the  Diet  supported  Aargau. 

It  was  not  to  be  a  permanent  solution,  however,  for,  in  1843, 
a  new  grouping  of  States  took  place  as  a  result  of  this  relig- 
ious question.  Luzern,  Uri,  Schwiz,  Unterwalden,  Zug,  Fri- 
bourg,  and  Valais  held  a  conference1  in  Luzern  to  discuss  the 
dangers  which  threatened  the  Catholic  religion,  thus  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  so-called  Sonderbund.  In  1844,  the  Can- 
ton of  Luzern  called  the  Jesuits  to  take  charge  of  educational 
matters.  This  act  was  immediately  followed  by  an  armed  raid 
of  radical  volunteers  from  other  Cantons  upon  the  city,  acting 
in  conjunction  with  their  friends  within.  It  was  the  first 
so-called  Freischaarenzug,  and  proved  a  complete  failure,  as  did 
also  a  second  raid  against  Luzern  in  the  following  year. 

Finally,  in  December,  1845,  the  seven  Cantons,  mentioned 
above,  signed  an  Act  of  Secession,2  in  which  they  pledged 
each  other  support  against  attacks  upon  their  sovereign  and 
territorial  rights.  At  the  same  time  they  appointed  a  Council 
of  War,  with  extended  powers. 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch.     p.  500. 

2  Ibid.     p.  504. 


330  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

From  that  moment  civil  war  seemed  inevitable,  although 
it  was  slow  in  coming.  In  1847,  tne  Diet  ordered  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Jesuits  from  Swiss  soil.  Soon  after,  it  called  upon 
the  Sonderbund  to  disband,  passed  a  resolution  to  execute  its 
command  by  force  of  arms,  and  elected  Henry  Dufour  Com- 
mander-in-Chief,  a  Genevese  soldier  of  great  experience, 
trained  in  the  school  of  war  of  the  first  Napoleon. 

At  the  last,  serious  efforts  were  made  to  allay  the  bitter  feel- 
ing which  animated  the  two  sides,  by  holding  conferences.  All 
in  vain,  for  Unionists  and  Secessionists  showed  themselves 
irreconcilable,  and  a  resort  to  arms  had  become  necessary. 

When  all  hope  of  peace  had  vanished,  the  Sonderbund  went 
so  far  as  to  appeal  to  Austria  for  help.  It  seemed  almost  like 
the  old  time  of  the  Zurich  War.  A  few  days  after,  Dufour 
issued  an  order  to  the  Union  army,  which  deserves  to  be 
remembered  for  its  noble,  humanitarian  tone.  It  doubtless 
had  much  to  do  with  the  great  forbearance  shown  by  the  vic- 
torious troops  in  the  ensuing  conflict.  "You  will  advance  into 
the  Canton  of  Luzern,"  he  said,  "  As  you  cross  the  boundary 
leave  your  anger  behind,  and  think  only  of  fulfilling  the  duties 
your  native  country  imposes  upon  you.  Attack  the  enemy 
boldly,  fight  bravely,  and  stand  by  your  flag  to  the  last  drop  of 
blood  !  But  as  soon  as  victory  is  decided  in  our  favor,  forget 
every  feeling  of  revenge;  act  like  generous  soldiers,  for  you 
will  thus  prove  your  real  courage.  Under  all  circumstances, 
do  what  I  have  already  often  commanded  you;  respect  the 
churches  and  all  buildings  consecrated  to  divine  service ! 
Nothing  will  disgrace  your  flag  more  than  insults  to  religion. 
Take  all  the  defenceless  under  your  protection ;  do  not  allow 
them  to  be  insulted  or  maltreated.  Do  not  destroy  anything 
unnecessarily;  waste  nothing;  in  a  word,  conduct  yourselves  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  win  respect,  and  to  show  yourselves 
worthy  of  the  name  you  bear."1 

Animated  by  this  spirit,  the  Unionist  forces  entered  into 
the  conflict. 

1  Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch,     p.  509. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  WAR  OF  THE  SONDERBUND  AND  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF 

1848. 

THERE  is  a  marked  likeness  between  the  crisis  through 
which  Switzerland  passed  in   1847  and  our  own  Ameri- 
can Civil  War,  of    1861-1864.     The  special  points    of   resem- 
blance will  be  noticed  in  detail,  after  a  description  has  been 
given  of  the  course  of  events  in  the  Swiss  Confederation  ^suf- 
fice it  to  say  here  that  not  only  were  the  experiences  of  both 
countries  in  their  supreme  struggle   against   secession   very 
.much  the  same,  but  they  were  also  productive  "of  almost  iden- 
tical political  results. 

As  to  the  resources  of  the  two  sides  in  Switzerland,  there 
was  a  very  decided  disparity  between  them.  Twelve  and 
a  half  Cantons  joined  the  Federal  cause,  only  seven  that 
of  the  Sonderbund,  while  one  and  two  half  Cantons  remained 
neutral,  Neuchatel,  Appenzell  (Inner  Rhoden)  and  Baselstadt. 
The  Federalists  mustered  over  98,000  strong,  but  the  Seces- 
sionists only  a  little  over  37,000,  or,  counting  in  the  poorly 
organized  reserve  (Landsturn),  about  85,000.  In  equipment 
and  discipline  the  advantage  was  also  decidedly  on  the  Union 
side.  The  seceded  states,  moreover,  formed  a  difficult  piece 
of  territory  to  defend ;  the  centre,  composed  of  the  Forest 
Cantons,  was  a  strong  position,  but  Fribourg  was  absolutely 
isolated,  and  Valais  connected  with  the  rest  only  by  high 
Alpine  passes.  If  the  Secessionists  could  be  said  to  have 
any  element  of  success  in  their  midst,  it  was  the  strength 
derived  from  religious  fanaticism  —  of  that  they  possessed 
great  abundance.  For  this  reason  it  is,  perhaps,  strange  that 

331 


332  THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

the  commander-in-chief  on  the  side  of  the  Sonderbund,  Salis- 
Soglio,  should  have  been  a  Protestant.  He  was,  however,  an 
experienced  soldier,  who  had  received  his  schooling,  like 
Dufour,  during  the  Napoleonic  wars. 

The  first  act  of  the  war  was  a  sudden  and  momentarily  suc- 
cessful invasion  of  Ticino  by  the  Secessionist  leader,  Siegwart- 
Miiller.  Like  the  firing  on  Sumpter  in  our  own  rebellion,  it 
roused  the  whole  country  to  a  sense  of  the  necessity  for 
immediate  action. 

Dufour  adopted  the  plan  of  completely  surrounding  the 
enemy  by  a  system  of  extended  detachments.  He  then 
marched  with  20,000  men  upon  Fribourg,  to  strike  an  immedi- 
ate blow  where  the  Sonderbund  was  weakest.  The  city 
surrendered  to  superior  numbers  after  very  little  resistance, 
and  the  Union  cause  was  able,  from  the  very  outset,  to  enjoy 
the  military  and  moral  advantage  of  a  decided  victory.  This 
task  accomplished,  Dufour  directed  his  divisions  to  concen- 
trate upon  Luzern,  determined  to  crush  the  rebellion  at  its 
centre. 

The  Secessionists  had  already  been  partly  successful  in  a 
number  of  skirmishes  with  his  troops,  stationed  in  the 
Aargau  ;  the  order  to  advance,  therefore,  came  none  too  soon. 
On  the  2  ist  of  November,  Zug  capitulated.  On  the  23d, 
Dufour  ordered  two  divisions  to  march  upon  Luzern — one 
along  the  Reuss,  by  Honau  and  Gislikon,  and  the  other 
from  Zug,  by  way  of  Meyerskappel.  The  first  division 
encountered  determined  opposition  at  Gislikon,  where  the  only 
real  battle  of  the  Sonderbund  War  was  fought.  The  enemy 
were  strongly  posted  in  the  village  and  on  the  heights  which 
rise  behind  it,  so  that  their  well-directed  artillery  fire  could 
check  the  advance  of  the  Federalists  for  some  time,  and,  in 
fact,  very  nearly  put  them  to  flight.  But  with  reinforcements 
the  latter  broke  all  resistance,  and  drove  the  enemy  upon 
Luzern.  In  the  meantime,  the  second  division  had  made  its 
way,  fighting  steadily,  along  the  pre-arranged  route,  so  that  by 
nightfall  the  two  Federal  divisions  were  masters  of  the  situa- 


THE    WAR    OF  THE  SONDERBUND.  333 

tion.  They  could  have  proceeded  immediately  to  attack  the 
city,  but  preferred  to  wait  until  they  had  made  their  own  con- 
nections more  secure. 

Next  day  Luzern  surrendered  without  fighting.  The  Seces- 
sionist leaders  had  fled  to  Fluelen  by  steamboat,  leaving  utter 
confusion  behind  them.  Organized  resistance  seemed  out  of 
the  question,  and,  in  fact,  the  entry  of  the  Federal  troops  was 
not  unwelcome  to  a  good  part  of  the  population.  Of  the 
other  operations  of  the  war,  now  practically  decided,  it  need 
only  be  said  that  they  were  insignificant,  and  uniformly 
turned  to  the  advantage  of  the  Federal  cause.  Soon  after, 
Unterwalden  surrendered,  then  Schwiz  and  Uri,  and,  on  the 
2Qth  of  November,  Valais,  so  that  the  war  was  finished  by  a 
campaign  of  not  quite  twenty  days.  In  the  whole  struggle 
there  were  only  seventy-eight  dead  and  two  hundred  and  sixty 
wounded  to  deplore.  It  was,  therefore,  a  singularly  bloodless 
affair,  showing  Dufour's  careful  manoeuvring  and  masterly 
massing  of  troops  where  their  presence  would  do  the  most 
work. 

As  the  conduct  of  the  campaign  had  been  expeditious,  so 
the  feeling  of  hostility  between  the  two  sides  was  soon 
allayed.  The  conquered  Cantons  were  fined  the  costs  of  war; 
but  when  they  had  paid  less  than  half  the  stipulated  sum,  the 
balance  was  remitted  to  them  in  a  brotherly  spirit  of  forgive- 
ness. It  may  be  stated  as  a  fact  that  there  is  to-day  not  a  par- 
ticle of  sore  feeling  in  Switzerland  between  the  old  antagonists 
of  the  Sonderbund  War.  Both  the  singular  generosity  of  the 
victors  and  the  rise  of  new  political  issues  have  long  ago 
diverted  public  attention  into  new  channels.  There  was  no 
waving  of  the  bloody  shirt  in  Switzerland.  Neuchatel, 
Appenzell,  and  Inner  Rhoden  were  heavily  fined  for  not  hav- 
ing taken  part  on  the  Federalist  side.  By  a  sort  of  poetic 
justice  the  fund  thus  obtained  was  used  for  pensioning  the 
Federalist  wounded  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the 
slain.  The  Secessionist  Cantons  were,  of  course,  subjected 
to  a  short  military  occupation  until  they  were  sufficiently 


334  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

reconstructed  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  but  then  Swit- 
zerland's crisis  was  over,  and  an  era  of  reforms  was  inau- 
gurated, which  led  inevitably  to  a  revision  of  the  Federal 
constitution  in  a  liberal  sense. 

Meanwhile  the  situation  had  just  escaped  from  being  compli- 
cated by  foreign  interference,  for,  on  the  3Oth  of  Nov.,  when 
hostilities  were  practically  over,"  the  French  ambassador  pre- 
sented a  collective  note  to  the  President  of  the  Federal  Diet 
and  to  the  Sonderbund  Council  of  War,  in  the  name  of  his 
own  government,  and  of  Austria,  Great  Britian,  Prussia,  and 
Russia,  offering  to  mediate  between  the  two  sides.  As  pre- 
liminary conditions  to  this  mediation  the  Sonderbund  Cantons 
were  to  ask  the  Pope's  advice  concerning  the  question  of  the 
Jesuits,  and  were  to  give  up  their  separate  league ;  the  Diet 
must  promise  to  protect  the  Cantons  exposed  to  Freischaaren- 
ziigey  and  to  adopt  no  new  articles  into  the  constitution,  which 
were  not  approved  by  all  the  members  of  the  Confederation. 
On  the  ^th  of  Dec.,  the  Diet  answered,  rejecting  the  proffered 
offer,  on  the  ground  that  the  civil  war  was  already  decided  in 
its  favor ;  that  the  proposed  conditions  were  not  consistent  with 
Switzerland's  position,  as  denned  by  European  treaties;  and 
that  the  security  of  neighboring  states  was  in  nowise  endan- 
gered. This  bold  stand  of  the  Federal  authorities  had  its 
effect.  Great  Britain,  which  seems  to  have  been  an  unwilling 
participator  in  this  foreign  interference,  withdrew  from  further 
attempts  at  coercion,  and  when  Austria  sent  another  note  in 
the  interest  of  the  conquered  Cantons,  the  Diet  answered  with 
great  firmness  and  dignity,  insisting  upon  the  complete  inde- 
pendence of  Switzerland  from  all  foreign  influence.  With  that 
the  diplomatic  incident  was  closed.1 

Of  course  this  war  of  the  Sonderbund  can  only  be  said  to 
resemble  our  own  civil  war  in  miniature,  for  the  forces  engaged, 
the  territory  covered,  the  loss  of  life  and  property,  and  the 
duration  of  the  contest  in  Switzerland  were  comparatively 
insignificant.  One  misses  the  terrific  battles,  the  long  marches, 

1Oechsli,  W.  Quellenbuch,  p.  513-523. 


THE    WAR    OF  THE  SONDERBUND.  335 

and  the  feats  of  endurance  which  characterized  the  American 
war.  ^At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not 
the  number  of  troops  engaged,  or  of  the  men  slain,  which 
makes  a  war  notable  in  history  or  otherwise,  it  is  the  issue  at 
stake  in  the  conflict.  In  this  respect,  the  likeness  between  the 
wars  of  the  two  countries  is  remarkable.  ^JThe  fundamental 
issue  in  both  cases  was  a  political  one.  It  was  that  of  Federal 
union  versus  extreme  states  rights,  of  centralization  as  opposed 
to  decentralization,  but  in  both  cases  a  deep-seated  evil  came  to 
complicate  the  situation  and  embitter  the  two  sides.  In  Swit- 
zerland there  was  the  question  of  the  Jesuits,  and  in  the 
United  States  the  institution  of  slavery. 

The  parallel  may  be  extended  to  other  details,  e.  g.,  the  party 
of  Secession  was  recruited  in  both  countries  from  that  element 
which  was  least  affected  by  progressive  ideas,  was  most  remote 
from  the  great  centres,  and  mainly  agricultural  and  pastoral. 
Even  the  disproportion  between  the  resources  of  the  two  sides 
serves  to  carry  out  the  likeness  between  the  Sonderbund  and 
the  American  war.  The  Freischaaren  raids,  which  preceded 
the  struggle  in  Switzerland,  were  like  the  armed  emigrations 
to  Kansas  and  the  attack  of  John  Brown  on  Harper's  Ferry. 
So  also  did  the  neutral  Cantons  in  the  Swiss  conflict  resemble 
our  own  doubtful  States. 

Not  to  prolong  this  historical  analogy  to  tedious  length,  let 
me  pass  on  to  the  great  and  lasting  results  of  the  Sonderbund 
War  in  Switzerland.  After  the  military  struggle  was  over,  a 
constitutional  reform  movement  was  inaugurated.  It  was 
generally  acknowledged  that  the  antiquated  Federal  Pact  of 
1815  must  give  way  to  a  revised  constitution,  more  in  keeping 
with  the  needs  of  the  Confederation.  A  committee  was, 
therefore,  chosen  to  draw  up  a  complete  draft  of  a  new  con- 
stitution, to  be  submitted  to  the  people  and  the  Cantons  for 
final  acceptance  or  rejection.  If  the  framers  of  this  document 
showed  any  hesitation  at  first  in  performing  their  task  in  a 
radical  spirit,  they  were  soon  encouraged  by  the  outbreak  of 
the  so-called  February  revolution  of  1848,  in  Paris,  which  set  all 


336  THE  RISE    OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Europe  ablaze.  Not  only  did  that  foreign  triumph  of  demo- 
cracy react  upon  the  Swiss  Liberals,  but  it  also  prevented  the 
great  powers  who  were  threatened  by  internal  difficul- 
ties, from  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  the  reconstructed 
Confederation. 

It  is  especially  interesting  for  us  Americans  to  know  that 
the  example  of  our  own  constitutional  organization  exerted  a 
strong  influence  upon  Swiss  statesmen  at  this  time.  Our  sys- 
tem of  two  legislative  houses,  one  representing  the  states  and 
another  the  people  numerically,  was  the  model  from  which 
the  framers  of  the  Swiss  constitution  of  1848  drew  their  inspi- 
ration for  the  Council  of  States  and  the  National  Council,  in 
Switzerland.  It  was  a  case  of  deliberate  and  acknowledged 
imitation,  urged  by  such  men  as  the  great  Bluntschli  himself 
and  by  Ru'ttiman,  the  author  of  a  work1  comparing  Swiss  and 
American  politics. 

In  September,  1848,  the  new  constitution  was  accepted  by 
fifteen  and  a  half  Cantons  as  against  seven,  and  by  a  majority 
of  the  voters.  It  was,  therefore,  declared  to  be  in  force.  The 
minority  submitted  to  the  voice  of  the  majority,  and  cheer- 
fully acquiesced  in  the  provisions  of  the  new  organic  law. 

As  a  careful  translation  of  the  whole  of  the  constitution 
will  b'e  found  in  the  Appendix,  with  amendments  up  to  1892, 
it  will  not  be  necessary  here  to  enter  into  an  examination  of 
its  many  details.  Switzerland  was  thereby  converted  from  a 
loose  confederation  into  a  federal  union,  or,  as  the  German 
constitutional  writers  delight  to  express  themselves,  from  a 
Staatenbund  into  a  Bundesstaat.  The  central  government 
assumed  control  over  all  the  foreign  relations  of  the  Cantons, 
and  abolished  the  mercenary  system,  forbidding  all  military 
capitulations  and  foreign  pensions  and  titles.  It  took  charge 
of  the  customs,  of  the  postal  service,  of  coinage,  weights  and 
measures,  and  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  gunpowder. 
It  divided  responsibility  with  the  Cantonal  governments  on 

1  Riittiman.    Das  Nordamerikanische  Bundesstaatsrecht  verglichen  mit  den  pol- 
itischen  Einrichtungen  der  Schweiz. 


THE   WAR    OF  THE  SONDERBUND.  337 

the  matter  of  the  national  military  and  educational  systems, 
and  of  public  works  and  police.  The  Federal  government 
dso^ujTanteed  certain  fundamental  popular  rights,  such  as 
the  equality  of  all  citizens  before  the  law,  the  right  of  free 
settlement  anywhere  on  Swiss  soil,  freedom  of  faith,  the 
liberty  of  the  press,  and  the  rights  of  assembly  and  petition. 

Thus  was  the  evolution  from  a  mere  aggregate  of  sovereign 
states  into  a  compact  Confederation  at  length  complete. 
There  has  been  steady  growth  on  the  same  lines  since  1848, 
tending  toward  -increasing  centralization  ;  the  Cantons  have 
learned  to  sacrifice  one  prerogative  after  the  other,  the  Fed- 
eral government  to  absorb  a  multitude  of  new  powers.  How 
far  this  movement  may  go  without  converting  Switzerland  into 
a  unitary^state,  remains  to  be  seen,  but  of  this  we  may  be 
sure,  as  long  as  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  the  birthright 
of  the  individual,  remain  unharmed  and  inviolate,  the  process 
of  unification  may  go  on  apace  without  danger  to  the  state. 
As  soon  as  the  work  of  centralization  shall  involve  the  curtail- 
ment of  any  of  the  fundamental  liberties  of  the  citizen,  no 
matter  how  magnificent  the  apparent  results  or  how  attractive 
the  momentary  glamour,  in  that  hour  the  decline  of  the  nation 
will  have  begun. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RECENT  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHANGES  IN  THE  CANTONS  AND 
THE  CONFEDERATION. 

"TJERHAPS  the  most  encouraging  feature  of  modern  Swiss 
1  statesmanship  is  that  steady  striving  after  a  fuller  recog- 
nition and  practice  of  popular  sovereignty,  which  has  been 
expressed  in  the  institutions  of  the  Referendum  and  the  Initia- 
tive. There  is  no  movement  in  any  other  country,  at  present, 
which  can  be  compared  to  this  masterly  and  systematic  reform 
on  democratic  lines.  It  is  full  of  great  possibilities.  It  has 
already  fulfilled  many  of  its  earlier  promises.  It  is  rapidly 
converting  the  Swiss  people  into  a  nation  governing  itself 
upon  an  almost  ideal  plan,  directly,  logically,  and  without 
intermediaries. 

The  keynote  to  this  reform  is  its  directness.  Whereas,  in 
the  United  States  the  practice  of  direct  government,  such  as 
it  still  exists  in  the  Massachusetts  Town  Meeting  and  kindred 
bodies,  tends  yearly  to  become  obsolete,  in  Switzerland  it 
flourishes  with  renewed  vigor.  In  fact,  the  parliamentary 
representative  system  has  never  taken  very  firm  foothold  in 
that  country.  It  was  a  foreign  imitation,  and  as  such  has 
always  been  viewed  somewhat  askance.  The  appearances  are 
that  it  will  be  still  more  modified  and  limited  in  the  future. 

The  first  steps  toward  the  introduction  of  this  modern  form 
of  direct  government  in  Switzerland  were  taken  by  the  Canton 
of  St.  Gallen,  in  1831.  At  that  time  there  was  granted  to 
the  people  the  right  of  veto  over  acts  of  the  Cantonal  Grand 

338 


RECENT   CONSTITUTIONAL    CHANGES. 


Council.  On  the  whole,  this  institution  did  not  give  entire 
satisfaction,  but  it  paved  the  way  admirably  for  .the  more 
radical  Referendum  and  Initiative.  The  Canton  of  Vaud,  in 
1845,  adopted  both  these  latter  institutions  in  a  modified  form, 
and,  from  that  time  on,  the  example  has  been  followed  by 
almost  all  the  other  members  of  the  Confederation,  and  by  the 
Federal  government  itself. 

This  term  "  Referendum  "  is  part  of  the  old  formula,  "  ad 
referendum  et  audiendum"  and  means  that  laws  and  resolutions 
framed  by  the  representatives  must  be  submitted  to  the  people 
for  acceptance  or  rejection.  A  distinction  is  made  between  a 
compulsory  and  optional  Referendum,  e.g.,  in  some  Cantons  all 
laws  must  be  submitted,  in  others  only  certain  kinds  or  only 
those  which  are  demanded  by  a  certain  number  of  voters. 

As  far  as  the  historical  genesis  of  the  Referendum  is  con- 
cerned, it  appeared  in  a  rudimentary  form  as  early  as  the  six- 
teenth century  in  the  Cantons  of  Graubiinden  and  Valais, 
before  those  districts  had  become  full-fledged  members  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation,  and  while  they  were  still  known  as  Zuge- 
wandte  Orte,  or  Associated  States.  Delegates  from  their  sev- 
eral communes  met  periodically,  but  were  always  obliged  to 
refer  their  decisions  to  the  communes  themselves  for  final 
approval.  In  the  same  manner,  the  delegates  from  the  vari- 
ous Cantons  to  the  old  Federal  Diet  used  to  refer  their  meas- 
ures to  their  home  governments  before  they  became  laws. 
To-day,  every  Canton,  except  priest-ridden,  Ultramontane  Fri- 
bourg,  has  either  the  compulsory  or  the  optional  Referendum 
incorporated  into  its  constitution,  and  the  central  government 
in  the  Federal  Constitution  possesses  the  optional,  e.g.y  in  the 
words  of  the  text  :  "  Federal  laws  as  well  as  federal  resolutions 
which  are  binding  upon  all,  and  which  are  not  of  such  a  nature 
that  they  must  be  despatched  immediately,  shall  be  laid  before 
the  people  for  acceptance  or  rejection,  when  this  is  demanded 
by  30,000  Swiss  voters  or  by  eight  Cantons."1 

Not  satisfied,  however,  with  passing  judgment  upon  the 
1  Federal  Constitution,  Article  89. 


340  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

laws  made  by  their  representatives,  the  people  soon  de- 
manded the  right  of  proposing  measures  themselves;  this  is 
the  Initiative,  or  the  right  of  any  voter  or  body  of  voters  to 
initiate  proposals  for  the  enactment  of  new  laws,  or  for  the 
alteration  or  abolition  of  existing  laws.  At  present  seventeen 
Cantons  out  of  twenty-two  have  incorporated  the  Initiative 
into  their  constitutions.  On  the  7th  of  July,  1891,  moreover, 
the  Swiss  people  accepted  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution which  introduces  the  same  principle  also  into  that 
document.  Hereafter  the  right  of  the  Initiative  is  applicable, 
"When  50,000  voters  demand  the  enactment,  abolition  or 
alteration  of  special  articles  of  the  Federal  Constitution."1  It 
can  only  be  a  question  of  a  few  years,  therefore,  before  all  the 
Cantons  of  the  Confederation  are  governed  by  the  Referendum 
and  Initiative. 

Hereafter,  Switzerland  must  become  more  than  ever  the 
standard  bearer  in  all  reforms  which  make  for  direct  and  effic- 
ient self-government,  while  we  of  the  greater  Republic  must 
acknowledge  with  humiliation  that  we  have  been  distanced  in 
the  race  for  pure  politics. 

This  Swiss  Referendum  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
French  plebiscite,  and  deserves  none  of  the  odium  which 
attaches  to  that  destructive  institution.  The  latter  is  a  tem- 
porary expedient,  illegal  and  abnormal,  used  only  at  moments 
of  great  national  excitement,  when  the  popular  vote  has  been 
carefully  prepared  and  ascertained,  by  unscrupulous  adven- 
turers. The  plebiscite  has  invariably  proved  itself  to  be  a 
device  invented  by  tyrants  to  entrap  the  people  into  giving 
assent  to  their  usurpations,  whereas  the  Referendum  acts 
through  regular  channels,  established  by  law,  sanctioned  by 
the  people  and,  therefore,  constitutional. 

Nor  must  the  right  of  the  Initiative  be  considered  as  equiva- 
lent to -the  general  privilege  of  petition,  which  is  enjoyed  by 
the  inhabitants  of  every  state  which  makes  any  pretentions 
whatever  to  political  liberty.  The  latter  is  merely  a  request, 

1  Federal  Constitution.     Article  121. 


RECENT   CONSTITUTIONAL    CHANGES.  341 

addressed  to  the  authorities  in  power,  by  a  number  of  more  or 
less  irresponsible  persons.  The  authorities  may,  or  may  not, 
take  it  into  consideration,  as  they  see  fit.  (_But  the  Initiative 
is  a  demand,  made  upon  the  government  by  a  body  of  voters, 
to  discuss  a  certain  project,  and  to  return  it  to  the  people  for 
final  acceptance  or  rejection.  The  authorities  are  obliged  to 
take  it  into  consideration,  or  to  draw  up  a  bill  of  their  own, 
incorporating  the  same  principle. 

In  Switzerland,  therefore,  the  introduction  into  practical  pol- 
itics of  any  question  which  attracts  public  notice,  can  be 
accomplished  in  a  simple  and  direct  manner.  O&Qiile  in  this 
country  we  are  confronted  by  the  almost  insurmountable  diffi- 
culties connected  with  the  election  of  representatives  pledged 
to  lay  reform  bills  before  the  House,  or  are  obliged  to  content 
ourselves  with  harmless  petitions. 

Now  the  Initiative  is  a  necessary  corollary  of  the  Referen- 
dum. Both  institutions  are  mediums  for  the  expression  of  the 
popular  will,  but  viewed  from  different  standpoints.  The 
Referendum  is  a  passive  force ;  it  says  merely  "aye"  or  "nay" 
and  is  essentially  judicial  in  character.  (  The  Initiative,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  an  active  creative  force  ;  it  supplies  the  progres- 
sive element  in  the  process  of  legislation,  while  the  Referen- 
dum acts  as  a  critical,  controlling  check  upon  the  adoption  of 
laws.  LCaken  together  these  two  institutions  form  the  most 
perfect  contrivance,  so  far  devised  by  a  free  people,  for  the 
conduct  of  self-government.  They  create  a  sort  of  political 
pendulum,  which  oscillates  in  a  groove  strictly  marked  by  the 
constitution.  They  produce  a  steady  see-saw  of  legislation,  a 
continual  to-and-fro  movement,  which  carries  certain  expres- 
sions of  the  public  will  directly  from  the  people  to  the  legisla- 
ture, and  back  again  to  the  people  for  their  verdict. 

In  the  Landsgemeinde  Cantons  voters  have  always  pos- 
sessed the  right  to  initiate  proposals  for  legislation,  and  .these 
proposals  have  always  been  submitted  to  the  verdict  of  the 
assembled  people,  so  that  the  Referendum  and  the  Initiative 
may  be  said  to  have  always  existed  in  those  Cantons.  Practi- 


342  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

cally,  of  course,  the  right  of  the  Initiative  has  often  been 
hedged  in  by  more  or  less  significant  conditions.  At  the  pres- 
ent time,  the  six  Cantons  and  Half-Cantons,  which  still  main- 
tain their  open-air  assemblies,  show  considerable  differences  in 
this  respect,  but  such  limitations  as  are  imposed  are  very 
slight,  and  do  not  interfere  with  a  reasonable  exercise  of  this 
right. 

£_It  will  always  remain  the  chief  honor  and  glory  of  Swiss 
statesmanship  to  have  discovered  the  solution  of  one  of  the 
great  political  problems  of  the  ages  :  how  to  enable  great 
masses  of  people  to  govern  themselves  directly.  By  means  of 
the  Referendum  and  the  Initiative,  this  difficulty  has  been 
brilliantly  overcome.  The  essence  and  vital  principle  of  the 
popular  assembly  has  been  rescued  from  perishing  miserably 
before  the  exigencies  of  modern  life,  and  successfully  grafted 
upon  the  representative  system. ) 

It  has  become  somewhat  of  a  commonplace  assertion  that 
politics  in  the  United  States  have  reached  the  lowest  stage  to 
which  they  may  safely  go.  There  seems  to  be  no  longer  any 
necessity  to  prove  this  proposition,  for  the  general  conviction 
has  gone  abroad,  amply  justified  by  the  whole  course  of  his- 
tory, that  no  democracy  can  hope  to  withstand  the  corrupting 
influences  now  at  work  in  our  midst,  unless  certain  radical 
reforms  are  carried  to  a  successful  conclusion.  Our  calm 
American  complacency  seems,  at  length,  to  have  received  a 
shock ;  our  habitual  optimism  to  have  given  place  to  a  feeling 
of  apprehension,  lest  the  maligant  forces,  now  uppermost  in 
our  national  life,  may  not,  after  all,  prove  too  strong  for  us; 
and  a  corresponding  desire  is  being  manifested  to  set  in 
motion  other  benign  forces,  which  shall  save  the  state  from 
destruction  while  there  is  yet  time. 

Unfortunately  all  attempts  to  probe  the  fundamental,  first 
causes  of  our  corruption  are  checked  at  the  outset,  by  the  diffi- 
culty of  bringing  the  popular  will  to  bear  upon  public  ques- 
tions. Our  whole  administrative  system,  and  all  the  methods 
by  which  the  people  are  supposed  to  make  known  their  desires! 


RECENT   CONSTITUTIONAL    CHANGES.  343 

are  perverted  and  diseased,  so  that  the  sovereign  body  are  pre- 
vented by  mere  tricksters  from  exerting  their  legitimate  con- 
trol over  the  making  of  the  laws  which  are  to  govern  them, 
are  suffering,  not  only  from  deep-seated  economic  and  social 
diseases,  of  which,  perhaps,  the  most  alarming  symptom  is  the 
concentration  of  wealth  intp^the  hands  of  a-  few,  but  from  the 
rule  of^tBe  Boss,  and  from  the  lamentable  fact  that_the  people 
,at_Jarge  are  divorced  from  legislation.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
nothing  stands  between  us  and  the  tyranny  of  Municipal,  State, 
and  Federal  bosses,  as  unscrupulous  as  any  feudal  lordlings  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  except  public  opinion,  imperfectly 
expressed  by  the  press. 

C  In  so  far  as  modern  parliamentary  systems  have  set  up  bar- 
riers between  the  people  and  legislation,  they  have  departed 
from  their  real  function,  which  is  to  take  the  propositions  ema- 
nating from  the  people,  and,  having  examined  and  adjusted 
them  to  suit  the  peculiar  requirements  of  the  case,  then  to 
return  them  to  the  people  for  acceptance  or  rejection. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts,  the  question  of  the  hour  resolves 
itself  into  this  :^How  best  to  bring  our  representative  system 
into  conformity  with  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty.  J 

As  for  the  introduction  of  the  Referendum  and  the  Initia- 
tive into  the  United  States,  there  are,  in  reality,  no  insur- 
mountable obstacles  to  bar  the  way.  Those  who  are  interested 
in  this  question  cannot  do  better  than  read  what  has  been 
written  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Vincent  in  his  recent  work  on  "State 
and  Federal  Government  in  Switzerland."  The  author  is  one 
of  the  few  Americans  who  understand  Swiss  political  institu- 
tions, and  realize  the  tremendous  possibilities  which  they 
unfold.  The  suggestions  offered  by  Mr.  Vincent  are  timely 
and  deserve  careful  attention. 

In  point  of  fact,  the  combination  of  the  Referendum  and 
the  Initiative  is  fatal  to  thejobby.  Under  its  beneficent  influ- 
ence politics  cease  to  be  a  trade ;  for  the  power  of  the  politi- 
cians is  curtailed  and  there  is  no  mbney  in  the  business.  No 
chance  is  offered  of  devising  deals  and  little  give-and-take 


344  THE  RISE  OF   THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

schemes,  when  everything  has  to  pass  before  the  scrutinizing 
gaze  of  the  tax  payers.  ^Moreover,  second  Houses,  such  as 
our  Senate,  tend  to  become  superfluous,  and  if  the  Referen- 
dum were  thoroughly  applied  would  doubtless  be  abolished 
altogether.  The  people  constitute  a  second  House  in  which 
every  bill  must  find  its  final  verdict. 

Democracies  have  been  justly  reproached  for  the  fact  that 
their  political  offices  are  not  always  filled  by  men  of  recog- 
nized ability  and  unstained  honor ;  that  the  best  talent  of  the 
nation,  after  a  while,  yields  the  political  field  to  adventurejrs. 

[This  is  not  the  case  in  Switzerland,  under  the  purifying  work- 
ing of  the  Referendum  and  Initiative.  Nowhere  in  the  world 
are  government  places  occupied  by  men  so  well  fitted  for  the 
work  to  be  performed.  (^These  institutions  strike  a  blow  at 
party  government  in  the  narrow  sense,  in  the  sense  in  which 
offices  are  distributed  only  to  party  workers,  irrespective  of 
capacity  for  peculiar  duties,—-  party  government -which  pro- 
duces an  opposition  whose  business  it  is  to  oppose,  never  to 

„  co-operate.  /Jt  would  also  modify  our  whole  representative 
system,  which  now  practically  endows  the  elected  legislators 
with  sovereign  attributes.  For  these  systems  the  Referendum 
and  the  Initiative  substitute  a  government  based  upon  busi- 
ness principles,  displaying  ability  and  stability,  simplicity  and 
economy. 

Besides  these  purely  practical  gains  there  are  recommenda- 

r  tions  on  the  score  of  ethics  which  deserve  to  be  noticed. 
Consider  the  educational  effect  of  institutions  which  obliges 
every  voter  to  investigate  and  pass  judgment  upon  bills  sub- 
mitted to  himi  teow  much  more  likely  it  is  under  such  cir- 
cumstances that  legislation  will  be  treated  on  its  merits,  and 
not  with  a  view  toward  keeping  a  certain  party  or  certain 
persons  in  power.)  We  have,  in  recent  years,  had  a  striking 
proof  of  the  extraordinary  educational  influence  of  presidential 
campaigns  in  calling  attention  to  the  absurdities  of  our  protec- 
tive tariff.  How  much  greater  must  be  the  results  of  a  series 
of  such  campaigns,  turning  in  succession  upon  all  the  subjects 


RECENT   CONSTITUTIONAL    CHANGES.  345 

with  which  a  good  citizen  should  be  familiar.  Then  think 
of  how  the  Referendum  and  the  Initiative  invest  the  individ- 
ual voter  witlLa  nejy  rMgnity  and  how  they  add  to  the  collec- 
tive sovereign  people  the  majesty  of  final  appeal,  of  which 
our  representative  system,  as  at  present  constituted,  practi- 
cally deprives  them. 

In  the  eyes  of  some  people  it  will  undoubtedly  seem  an 
objection  to  the  Referendum  that  it  seriously  curtails  the 
£owers  of  legislatures.  But  when  we  remember  that  the  peo- 
ple of  several  of  our  States  have  already  found  it  necessary  to 
do  this  by  special  enactments,  and  when  we  stop  to  imagine 
for  one  moment (the  mass  of  %  legislation,  often  contradictory 
and  inconsistent,  and  generally  useless  if  not  absolutely  harm- 
ful, which  is  being  piled  up  in  the  legislatures  of  the  various 
States  and  of  the  Federal  government,  it  will  be  seen,  at  a 
glance,  what  a  boon  the  Referendum  in  reality  might  become ; 
how  valuable,  nay,  how  providential  a  check  it  might  be  upon 
this  reckless,  regardless,  wholesale  rush  of  legislation !  To- 
day reform  lies  in  the  direction  of  repeal  rather  than  of  further 
laws,  of  liberty  rather  than  restriction. 

Those  who  have  no  faith  in  the  principles  which  underlie 
all  genuine  democracies,  in  the  equality  and  brotherhood  of 
man,  and  in  his  natural  rights ;  who  fear  the  people  as  an 
unreasoning  beast  which  must  be  controlled ;  and  therefore 
look  to  reform  by  means  of  artificial  laws  rather  than  by  those 
of  Nature  — such  men  will  naturally  dread  anything  which  sav- 
ors of  direct  government,  and  will,  of  course,  find  the  Referen- 
dum and  the  Initiative  a  stumbling-block  and  a  bugbear. 

But  the  increasing  number  of  those  who  place  their  utmost 
confidence  in  the  common  sense  of  the  people  as  a  whole, 
unhampered  and  unperverted  by  bosses,  will  welcome  the 
(^Referendum  and  its  complement,  the  Initiative,  as  the  most 
important  contributions  to  the  art  of  self-government  and  the 
greatest  triumphs  over  the  peculiar  dangers  to  which  repre- 
sentative governments  are  exposed,  which  this  century  has 
yet  seen.J) 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    CONSTITUTIONS    OF     THE    SWISS     CONFEDERATION     AND     OF 

THE  UNITED  STATES    COMPARED. 

^>» 

IN  her  quiet  fashion,  the  unobtrusive  little  Confederation  is 
working  out  some  of  the  great  modern  problems,  and  her 
citizens,  with  their  natural  aptitude  for  self-government,  are  pre- 
senting object  lessons  which  we  especially  in  America  cannot 
afford  to  overlook.  It  is  true  that  political  analogies  are  some- 
times a  little  perilous,  for  identical  situations  can  never  be 
reproduced  in  different  countries,  but  if  there  be  any  virtue  at 
all  in  the  study  of  comparative  politics,  a  comparison  between 
the  Federal  constitutions  of  Switzerland  and  of  the  United 
States  ought  to  throw  into  relief  some  features  which  can  be 
of  service  to  us. 

To  be  perfectly  frank,  the  Swiss  constitution  when  placed 
side  by  side  with  our  own,  at  first  shows  certain  decided  short- 
comings. The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  an  emi- 
nently logical,  well-balanced  document,  in  which  a  masterly 
distinction  is  made  between  the  executive,  legislative,  and 
judicial  functions  of  government,  and  between  matters  which 
belong  by  nature  to  organic  law,  and  those  which  may  safely 
be  left  to  the  statute  law.  In  the  Swiss  constitution,  however, 
the  line  which  separates  these  departments  is  not  as  clearly 
drawn,  so  that,  in  fact,  a  certain  amount  of  confusion  in  their 
treatment  becomes  apparent.  In  the  primitive  leagues  which 
were  concluded  between  the  early  Confederates,  no  attempt 
was  made  to  draw  up  regular  constitutions,  and  the  one  now  in 
force  dates  only  from  1848,  with  amendments  made  in  1874, 

346 


SWISS  AND  AMERICAN   CONSTITUTIONS.       347 

1879,  1885,  1891  and  1892,  an  instrument  still  somewhat  im- 
perfect, pc  rhaps,  but  none  the  less  suggestive  to  the  student. 

There  a  e  two  institutions  in  the  Swiss  state  which  bear  a 
very  strong  likeness  to  corresponding  ones  in  our  own. 

Both  countries  have  a  legislative  system  consisting  of  two  ) 
houses,  one  representing  the  people  numerically,  and  the  s 
other  the  Cantons  of  which  the  Union  is  composed,  and  \ 
both  possess  a  Supreme  Court,  which  in  Switzerland  goes  by  / 
the  name  of  the  Federal  Tribunal.  It  is  generally  conceded 
that  the  Swiss  consciously  imitated  these  American  institu- 
tions, but  in  doing  so  they  certainly  took  care  to  adapt  them 
to  their  own  particular  needs,  so  that  the  two  sets  of  institu- 
tions are  by  no  means  identical.  The  Swiss  National  Council 
and  Council  of  States,  forming  together  the  Federal  Assembly, 
are  equal,  co-ordinate  bodies,  performing  the  same  functions, 
whereas  our  House  of  Representatives  and  Senate  have  partic- 
ular duties  assigned  to  each,  and  the  former  occupies,  in  a 
measure,  a  subordinate  position  to  the  latter.  The  Swiss  houses 
meet  twice  a  year  in  regular  sessions,  on  the  first  Monday  in 
June  and  the  first  Monday  in  December,  and  for  extra  sessions 
if  there  is  special  unfinished  business  to  transact.  The 
National  Council  is  composed  at  present  of  147  members,  one 
representative  to  every  20,000  inhabitants.  Every  citizen  of 
twenty-one  is  a  voter,  and  every  voter  not  a  clergyman  is 
eligible  to  office.  This  exception  is  due  to  dread  of  relig- 
ious quarrels,  with  which  the  pages  of  Swiss  history  have 
been  only  too  frequently  stained.  A  general  election  takes 
place  every  three  years.  The  salary  of  the  representatives 
is  four  dollars  a  day,  which  is  forfeited  by  non-attendance, 
and  about  five  cents  a  mile  for  travelling  expenses.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Council  of  States  is  composed  of  forty-four 
members,  two  for  each  of  the  twenty-two  Cantons.  The  length 
of  their  terms  of  office  is  left  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Cantons  which  elect  them,  and  in  the  same  manner  their  sala- 
ries are  paid  out  of  the  Cantonal  treasuries.  There  are  certain 
special  occasions  when  the  two  houses  meet  together  and 


348          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

act  in  concert;  first,  for  the  election  of  the  Federal  Council, 
which  corresponds  in  a  general  way  to  our  President  and  his 
Cabinet ;  secondly,  for  the  election  of  the  Federal  Tribunal ; 
thirdly,  for  that  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation,  an 
official  whose  duties  seem  to  be  those  of  a  secretary  to  the 
Federal  Council  and  Federal  Assembly ;  and  fourthly,  for  that 
of  the  Commander-in-Chief  in  case- of  war. 

The  attributes  of  the  Swiss  Federal  Tribunal,  though  closely 
resembling  those  of  our  Supreme  Court,  are  not  identical  with 
them,  for  the  Swiss  conception  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple is  quite  different  from  our  own.  Their  Federal  Assembly 
is  the  repository  of  the  national  sovereignty,  and,  therefore,  no 
other  body  can  override  its  decisions.  The  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  tests  the  constitutionality  of  laws  passed  by 
Congress  which  may  be  submitted  to  it  for  examination,  thus 
placing  itself  as  arbiter  over  the  representatives  of  the  people  ; 
but  the  Federal  Tribunal  must  accept  as  final  all  laws  which 
have  passed  through  the  usual  channels,  so  that  its  duty  con- 
sists merely  in  applying  them  to  particular  cases  without 
questioning  their  constitutionality. 

If  there  is  a  resemblance  between  the  Federal  Assembly 
and  our  Congress,  and  between  the  Federal  Tribunal  and  our 
Supreme  Court,  there  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  striking  differ- 
ence between  the  Federal  Council  and  our  presidential  office. 

The  Swiss  Constitution  does  not  intrust  the  executive  power 
to  one  man,  as  our  own  does,  but  to  a  Federal  Council  of  seven 
members,  acting  as  a  sort  of  Board  of  Administration.  These 
seven  men  are  elected  for  a  fixed  term  of  three  years,  out  of 
the  ranks  of  the  whole  body  of  voters  throughout  the  country 
by  the  two  Houses,  united  in  joint  session.  Every  year  they 
also  designate,  from  the  seven  members  of  the  Federal  Council, 
the  two  persons  who  shall  act  as  President  and  Vice-President 
of  the  Swiss  Confederation.  The  Swiss  President  is,  therefore, 
only  the  chairman  of  an  executive  board,  and  presents  a  com- 
plete contrast  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  who  is 
virtually  a  monarch,  elected  for  a  short  reign.  Sir  Henry 


SWISS  AND  AMERICAN  CONSTITUTION.        349 

Maine  says  in  his  book  on  "Popular  Government",  (that 
somewhat  exasperating  but  always  instructive  arraignment  of 
democracy)  :  "On  the  face  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  resemblance  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  the  European  king,  and  especially  to  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  is  too  obvious  to  mistake.  The  President  has,  in  vari- 
ous degrees,  a  number  of  powers  which  those  who  know  some- 
thing of  kingship  in  its  general  history  recognize  at  once  as 
peculiarly  associated  with  it  and  with  no  other  institution." 

In  truth,  he  is  vested  with  all  the  attributes  of  sovereignty 
during  his  term  of  office.  He  holds  in  his  hands  the  whole 
executive  power  of  the  government ;  he  is  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  army  and  navy ;  possesses  a  suspensory  veto  upon  legis- 
lation and  the  privilege  of  pardoning  offences  against  Federal 
law,  and,  finally,  is  intrusted  with  an  appointing  power  unpa- 
ralleled in  any  free  country.  With  all  this  authority  he  is  still 
a  partisan  by  reason  of  the  manner  of  his  election,  so  that  he 
cannot  possibly  administer  his  office  impartially,  and  must, 
from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  forward  the  interests  of  one 
political  party  at  the  expense  of  the  rest.  It  is  certainly 
worthy  of  consideration  whether  the  Swiss  Federal  Council 
does  not  contain  valuable  suggestions  for  reformers  who 
desire  to  hasten  the  triumph  of  absolute  democracy  in  the 
United  States. 

The  institutions  of  the  Referendum  and  the  Initiative  until 
recently  had  no  counterparts  in  our  own  country,  unless  we 
except  the  somewhat  unwieldy  provisions  in  various  States  for 
the  revisions  of  their  constitutions  by  popular  vote,  and  the 
general  right  of  petition.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  success- 
ful experiment  in  applying  the  principles  of  direct  government 
which  has  been  made  in  modern  times. 

There  are,  besides,  a  host  of  minor  differences  between  the 
Swiss  and  American  Constitutions,  of  more  or  less  interest  to 
students  of  politics  and  economics. 

The  central  government  in  Switzerland  maintains  a  Federal 
Polytechnic  School  at  Zurich,  and  by  virtue  of  the  con- 


350  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

stitution  also  exerts  an  influence  over  education  throughout 
the  Confederation.  Article  27  prescribes  that  the  Cantons 
shall  provide  compulsory  primary  instruction  to  be  placed 
in  charge  of  the  civil  authorities  and  to  be  gratuitous  in  all 
public  schools.  In  practice  these  provisions  have  been  found 
difficult  to  enforce  where  the  spirit  of  the  population  was 
opposed  to  them,  as  in  Uri,  the  most  illiterate  of  the  Cantons, 
where  educational  matters  remain  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
priesthood.  Fortunately,  however,  the  Swiss  people  at  large 
have  a  very  keen  appreciation  of  the  value  of  education,  so 
that  illiteracy,  as  we  have  it  in  this  country,  among  the  negroes 
and  the  poor  whites  of  the  South,  as  well  as  amongst  certain 
classes  of  our  immigrants,  is  really  unknown  in  Switzerland. 
Someone  has  jestingly  said  that  there  "the  primary  business 
of  the  state  is  to  keep  school,"  and  really,  in  travelling  through 
the  country  which  gave  birth  to  Pestalozzi,  one  is  continually 
impressed  with  the  size  and  comparative  splendor  of  the 
school-houses;  in  every  village  and  hamlet  they  have  the 
appearance  of  being  the  very  best  which  the  community  by 
scrimping  and  saving  can  possibly  put  up. 

On  the  subject  of  import  duties,  the  Constitution  lays  down 
the  Article  29  as  general  rules  to  guide  the  conduct  of  legisla- 
tors, that  "materials  which  are  necessary  to  the  industries 
and  agriculture  of  the  country  shall  be  taxed  as  low  as  possi- 
ble ;  the  same  rule  shall  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  Articles  of  luxury  shall  be  subjected  to  the 
highest  taxes."  From  this  set  of  principles  it  will  be  seen 
that  Switzerland  levies  her  duties  for  revenue  only,  as  the 
phrase  is,  although  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  a  percep- 
tible tendency  now  manifested  to  raise  the  duties  in  conse- 
quence of  the  high  protectionist  wave  which  is  sweeping  over 
the  continent  of  Europe  at  the  present  moment. 

When  the  statistics  of  Switzerland's  general  trade,  including 
all  goods  in  transit,  which,  of  course,  make  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  whole,  are  compared  with  those  of  other  European 
states,  it  is  found  that  she  possesses  a  greater  amount  of  gen- 


SWISS  AND  AMERICAN  CONSTITUTIONS.        351 

eral  trade  per  head  of  population  than  any  other  European 
country,  more  even  than  England. 

The  telegraph  and  telephone  systems  are  managed  by  the 
central  government,  as  well  as  the  post-office,  with  excellent 
results.  Not  only  are  these  departments  conducted  in  an 
exemplary  manner  upon  cheap  terms,  but  a  respectable  rev- 
enue is  also  derived  from  them,  which  makes  a  good  showing 
in  the  annual  budget. 

Everything  which  is  connected  with  the  army,  from  the 
selection  of  the  recruits  to  the  election  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  also  possesses  exceptional  interest,  because  Switzerland 
is  the  only  country  in  the  world  which  has  so  far  succeeded  in 
maintaining  an  efficient  militia  without  the  vestige  of  a  stand- 
ing army. 

An  attempt  was  made,  in  1885,  to  deal  with  the  evils  of 
intemperance,  by  establishing  a  state  monopoly  of  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  spirituous  liquors,  the  revenue  thus  derived 
being  apportioned  amongst  the  Cantons  according  to  popula- 
tion, with  the  proviso  that  ten  per  cent  of  it  be  used  by  them 
to  combat  the  causes  and  effects  of  alcoholism  in  their  midst. 
It  is  too  early  to  speak  of  the  final  results  of  this  legislation, 
but  for  the  moment  there  seems  to  be  a  decided  falling  off  in 
the  consumption  of  the  cruder  and  more  injurious  qualities. 

Amongst  other  matters  which  the  Federal  authorities  have 
brought  under  their  supervision,  are  the  forests,  river  improve- 
ments, ordinary  roads  and  railroads,  and  bridges,  etc.,  not  man- 
aging them  all  directly,  but  reserving  the  right  to  regulate 
them  at  will.  Even  hunting  and  fishing  come  within  the  juris- 
diction of  the  central  government,  this  constitutional  power 
having  been  used  to  preserve  the  chamois  in  certain  mountain 
ranges  where  they  were  threatening  to  disappear  completely, 
but  where,  thanks  to  timely  interference,  they  are  now  actually 
on  the  increase. 

Apart  from  these  constitutional  provisions,  the  general  drift 
of  legislative  action  seems  to  have  set  in  very  strongly  toward 
a  mild  form  of  state  socialism,  somewhat  after  the  form  of  the 


352          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Prussian  system,  but  with  this  difference,  that  in  the  case  of 
Switzerland  it  is  the  people  who  unite  to  delegate  certain  pow- 
ers to  the  state,  while  in  the  latter  country  this  policy  is 
imposed  upon  the  people  from  above  by  the  ruling  authorities. 
The  altogether  exceptional  clauses  in  the  Swiss  Constitution 
referring  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Jesuits,  a  survival  of  the  war 
of  1848,  to  the  so-called  Heimatlosen,  or  those  who  have  no 
commune  of  origin,  and  to  the  police  appointed  to  control  the 
movements  of  foreign  agitators  seeking  asylum  in  the  country, 
all  these  have  a  purely  local  interest,  and  need  not  be  especially 
examined. 

What,  then,  is  the  peculiar  mark  and  symbol  of  the  Swiss 
Constitution,  taken  as  a  whole  ?  When  all  has  been  said  and 
done,  the  most  characteristic  provisions  are  those  which  intro- 
duce forms  of  direct  government  or  of  pure  democracy,  as  the 
technical  expression  is.  The  supremacy  of  the  legislative 
branch,  as  representing  the  people,  the  peculiar  make-up  of 
the  Federal  Council,  the  limited  power  of  the  Federal  Tri- 
bunal, and  above  all  the  institution  of  the  Referendum  and 
Initiative,  are  all  evidences  of  this  tendency  toward  direct 
government.  In  the  Cantonal  governments  the  same  quality 
is  more  apparent,  for  it  is  from  them  that  the  Swiss  Federal 
Constitution  has  borrowed  the  principles  which  underlie  these 
characteristic  provisions.  In  point  of  fact,  representative  de- 
mocracy has  never  felt  quite  at  home  in  Switzerland ;  there  has 
always  been  an  effort  to  revert  to  simpler,  more  straightfor- 
ward methods;  to  reduce  the  distance  which  separates  the 
people  from  the  exercise  of  their  sovereignty ;  and  to  consti- 
tute them  into  a  court  of  final  appeal. 

In  view  of  the  marvellous  stability  which  the  pure  demo- 
cracy of  Switzerland  has  displayed,  there  is  something  comical 
in  the  horror  of  all  forms  of  direct  government  expressed  by 
most  constitutional  writers.  De  Tocqueville,  whom  we  honor 
for  his  appreciation  of  our  own  Constitution,  declared,  "that 
they  all  tend  to  render  the  government  of  the  people  irregular 
in  its  action,  precipitate  in  its  resolutions  and  tyrannical  in  its 


SWISS  AND  AMERICAN  CONSTITUTIONS.        353 

acts."  1  Mr.  George  Grote2  also  condemned  the  Referendum, 
and,  of  course,  one  cannot  expect  pure  democracy  to  be 
praised  by  Sir  Henry  Maine.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Dicey 
recently  discussed  the  practicability  of  introducing  the  Refer- 
endi'm  into  _the  English  -political  system  in  a  favorable 
manner.3  After  all,  is  not  this  very  quality  of  directness  a 
great  recommendation,  when  we  consider  the  rubbish  which  at 
present  clogs  the  wheels  of  our  political  machinery,  the  com- 
plications which  confuse  the  voter  and  hide  the  real  issues 
from  his  comprehension  ?  The  very  epithets,  pure  and  direct, 
satisfy  at  once  our  best  aspirations  and  our  common  sense. 

1  De  Tocqueville.     Democracy  in  Switzerland. 

2  Grote,  G.     Seven  Letters  concerning  the  Politics  of  Switzerland  in  1847. 
9  Dicey,  £.    Article  in  Contemporary  Review.    April,  1890. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE    NEUTRALITY    OF    SWITZERLAND. 

HAPPILY,  that  period  of  national  degradation,  which 
Switzerland  traversed  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
is  now  only  an  evil  memory.  The  Confederation  has  risen 
from  the  state  of  complete  prostration  into  which  she  had 
fallen,  has  collected  her  forces  during  many  succeeding  years 
of  peace,  and  after  various  vicissitudes,  has  at  length  won  her 
present  position  of  honor  and  usefulness  amongst  the  nations. 

Switzerland's  geographical  position  imposes  upon  her  the 
choice  between  two  utterly  distinct  foreign  policies.  She 
must  either  cast  in  her  lot^with  one  of  the  rival  European 
powers,  or  else  she  must  observe  strict  neutrality  toward  them 
all.  Since  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  in  1815,  Switzerland  has 
adhered,  without  the  slightest  deviation,  to  the  latter  policy; 
thus  fulfilling  the  two-fold  mission  of  providing  neutral  terri- 
tory in  the  midst  of  armed  Europe,  and  of  representing  the 
principles  of  democracy  on  the  continent. 

But  it  is  one  thing  to  be  endowed  with  the  privilege  of  per- 
petual neutrality  and  quite  another  matter  to  maintain  it  invio- 
late. The  complications,  to  which  the  intense  rivalry  of  the 
powers  now  and  again  give  rise,  often  make  this  task 
extremely  embarrassing. 

The  so-called  question  of  Savoy,  a  legacy  of  the  Congress  of 
Vienna,  deserves  to  be  especially  noticed.  In  1859,  tne  ces~ 
sion  of  Nice  and  Savoy  to  France  led  to  negotiations  between 
the  Confederation  and  Napoleon  III.  The  latter  offered  to 
concede  certain  further  rights  over  the  zone  in  Savoy  to  Swit- 

354 


THE  NEUTRALITY  OF  SWITZERLAND.  355 

zerland,  but  they  were  refused  as  insufficient,  and,  during  an 
interchange  of  notes  between  the  two  governments,  in  1883, 
it  was  acknowledged  that  the  conditions  created  by  the  act  of 
1815  were  still  in  force.  The  zone  presents,  therefore,  the 
strange  anomaly  of  being  French  territory,  and  yet  enjoying 
the  same  sort  of  neutrality  as  Switzerland ;  of  furnishing  sol- 
diers for  the  French  army,  and  in  the  event  of  a  European  war, 
being  forbidden  ground  for  contending  armies.  Moreover, 
any  interference  of  Switzerland  in  that  quarter,  to  which  she 
is  legally  entitled  according  to  the  terms  of  the  act  of  1815, 
would  now  undoubtedly  produce  grave  international  complica- 
tions ;  so  that  the  whole  question  may  be  considered  to  be  in 
a  very  unsatisfactory  state,  and  to  be  prevented  from  endan- 
gering peace  only  by  the  especially  friendly  relations  which 
exist  between  the  Swiss  and  the  French. 

As  has  been  shown,  Switzerland  displayed  the  greatest  pres- 
ence of  mind,  in  1847,  at  tne  ^mQ  °f  tne  Sonderbund  War,  in 
rejecting  the  offer  made  by  the  powers  to  intervene  in  the  inter- 
est of  peace.  The  so-called  question  of  Neuchatel,  of  1857,  also 
gave  the  Confederation  the  opportunity  of  showing  Europe  a 
determined  front,  and  more  recently  she  asserted  her  neutrality 
by  a  show  of  armed  force,  in  1871,  during  the  closing  months  of 
the  Franco-German  war.  In  February  of  that  critical  year,  the 
French  army  of  the  East,  under  Bourbaki,  had  retreated  from 
Belfort  upon  the  Swiss  frontier,  and  then,  surrounded  by  the 
Germans,  decimated  by  cold  and  hunger,  had  taken  refuge 
upon  Swiss  soil  to  the  number  of  about  85,000  men,  with 
10,000  horses  and  200  guns.  A  body  of  20,000  Swiss  troops 
promptly  disarmed  them  and  distributed  them  over  Switzerland, 
where  for  something  like  seven  weeks  they  were  cared  for  in  a 
manner  which  has  always  been  remembered  with  gratitude  by 
the  French  nation,  and  is  still  frequently  mentioned  upon  pub- 
lic occasions. 

It  is  the  right  of  asylum  which  has  given  Switzerland  the 
greatest  trouble  in  the  exercise  of  her  neutrality.  The  late  Sir 
F.  O.  Adams,  Minister  of  Great  Britain,  at  Bern,  says  in  regard 


356  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

to  this  point,  in  his  book,  "The  Swiss  Confederation":  "The 
question  of  the  right  of  asylum  has  been  at  times  a  difficult  one 
for  Swiss  statesmen  ;  but  the  invariable  principle  that  has 
guided  them,  even  when  there  has  been  pressure  from  abroad, 
is  stated  to  be  that  Switzerland,  whilst  maintaining  that  right 
in  its  integrity,  cannot  allow  foreigners  who  have  taken  refuge 
upon  her  soil  to  abuse  her  hospitality  by  organizing  conspira- 
cies against  foreign  governments;  still  less  to  lay  plans  for  the 
commission  of  crimes  against  individuals,  or  for  injuring  their 
property."1  As  may  be  imagined,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  apply 
these  principles  impartially,  and  to  distinguish  between  purely 
political  crimes  and  offences  against  common  law  ;  but,  at  all 
times,  the  little  Confederation  has  shown  the  greatest  courage 
in  ignoring  foreign  threats,  and  in  interpreting  her  duty  accord- 
ing to  her  own  standards.  In  1823,  several  German  fugitives, 
implicated  in  the  liberal  agitation  of  the  German  students,  or 
Burschenschaften,  took  refuge  at  Basel.  Amongst  them,  a  Wil- 
liam Wesselhoef  t  2  who,  finding  that  great  pressure  was  being 
exerted  by  the  powers  to  force  Basel  to  expel  him,  left  of  his 
own  accord  for  the  United  States.  In  1834,  the  presence  of 
Mazzini  in  Switzerland  led  to  international  difficulties,  and,  in 
1838,  she  preferred  to  mobilize  her  troops  rather  than  to  sub- 
mit to  the  demand  of  the  French  government  in  regard  to 
Louis  Napoleon,  the  subsequent  Emperor,  who  had  taken 
refuge  at  Arenenberg,  on  the  Lake  of  Constance. 

Only  lately,  in  the  summer  of  1889,  a  ripple  of  excitement 
passed  over  the  surface  of  the  diplomatic  world  on  account  of 
what  was  known  as  the  Wohlgemuth  affair.  A  German  police 
officer  of  that  name  was  detected  practising  the  arts  of  an 
agent  provocateur  amongst  the  German  Socialist  and  Anarchist 
fugitives  in  Switzerland  ;  that  is,  he  was  engaged  in  ingratiat- 
ing himself  into  their  good  will  by  pretending  to  be  one  of 
them,  and  was  caught  urging  them  to  commit  open  acts  of 
violence  which  would  lead  to  their  arrest.  It  is  almost  incred- 

1Adams  and  Cunningham.     The  Swiss  Confederation,    p.  244. 

2  His  descendants,  a  well-known  family  of  physicians,  now  live  in  Boston,  Mass. 


or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 


THE  NEUTRALITY  OF  SWITZERLAND.          357 

ible  that  the  great  powers  should  stoop  to  such  baseness,  but 
the  history  of  the  last  few  years  in  Europe  is  full  of  the 
doings  of  these  official  spies.  Wohlgemuth  was  promptly 
clapped  into  prison,  on  the  accusation  of  inciting  to  a  breach  of 
the  peace,  and  later  politely  conducted  to  the  frontier,  after 
repeated  remonstrances  from  Bismarck,  at  that  time  still  in  the 
heyday  of  his  glory  as  Chancellor  of  the  empire.  There  may 
have  been  some  irregularities  in  the  manner  in  which  the 
police  officer  was  treated,  but  every  impartial  person  was 
delighted  at  the  fearlessness  displayed  by  the  local  Swiss 
authorities.  The  incident  did  not,  however,  end  with  Wohl- 
gemuth's  expulsion,  for  Bismarck  took  this  occasion  to  try  to 
bully  Switzerland  after  his  most  approved  method.  He  made 
the  impossible  request  that  the  Swiss  government  should  here- 
after refuse  the  right  of  asylum  to  every  German  subject  not 
provided  with  papers  signed  by  the  officials  of  his  native  coun- 
try ;  denounced  the  treaty  of  settlement  which  existed  between 
Germany  and  Switzerland ;  and,  what  was  more  serious,  threat- 
ened to  withdraw  the  guarantee  of  his  government  to  Switzer- 
land's perpetual  neutrality.  In  1870,  a  few  days  after  the 
declaration  of  war  against  France,  Bismarck  had  written,  in 
answer  to  a  circular  letter  sent  by  the  Swiss  Federal  Council, 
"  Germany  will  scrupulously  respect  the  neutrality  of  Switzer- 
land guaranteed  by  the  treaties"1;  but,  in  1889,  he  professed 
to  consider  this  promise  as  no  longer  binding. 

Popular  feeling  in  Switzerland  ran  very  high  against  these 
Bismarckian  methods.  Of  course,  the  newspapers  of  both 
countries  made  much  of  the  incident,  with  that  peculiar  aban- 
don which  characterizes  all  press  wars ;  but  the  height  of  reck- 
lessness and  disregard  of  established  rights  was  reached  by  a 
German  paper,  which  went  so  far  as  to  suggest  the  partition 
of  Swiss  territory  amongst  Germany,  France,  Austria,  and 
Italy,  as  the  simplest  solution  of  the  great  European  problem. 
After  boiling  up  ominously  for  a  while,  the  waters  subsided, 
but  not  before  Bismarck  had  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Rus- 

1  Hilty.     La  Neutrality  de  la  Suisse,  p.  51. 


358          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

sian  government  to  remonstrate  against  Switzerland's  lenient 
attitude  toward  the  Nihilist  fugitives  on  her  soil.  The  upshot 
of  the  Wohlgemuth  affair  was  that  the  Swiss  authorities  insti- 
tuted an  extra  force  of  police  to  watch  the  doings  of  foreign 
agitators ;  another  treaty  of  settlement  was  concluded  with 
Germany,  and  the  threats  made  by  Bismarck  were  followed  by 
assurances  of  good  will.  At  the  present  time  the  question 
is,  of  course,  closed,  but  a  feeling  of  distrust  has  remained 
amongst  the  Swiss,  and  a  deepened  conviction  that  they  must 
learn  to  depend  more  and  more  upon  their  own  exertions  to 
maintain  their  much-prized  neutrality. 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  treating  of  this  subject,  that 
there  is  a  distinction  between  a  case  of  ordinary  neutrality, 
which  is  the  state  of  any  country  preserving  an  impartial  bear- 
ing while  its  neighbors  are  engaged  in  war,  and  the  perpetual 
or  guaranteed  neutrality  which  belongs  to  Switzerland  by  vir- 
tue of  international  agreements.  The  latter  is  a  special  priv- 
ilege, accorded  only  under  exceptional  circumstances.  It  is 
unquestionably  the  strategic  importance  of  the  little  Confeder- 
ation, out  of  all  proportion  to  the  extent  of  her  territory, 
which  has  made  her  the  recipient  of  such  a  favor ;  for  Switzer- 
land's position  and  topographical  features  are  such  as  to 
render  her  the  great  natural  fortress  of  central  Europe,  and 
the  key  to  the  military  situation.  In  fact,  her  importance, 
from  this  point  of  view,  has  steadily  increased  in  modern 
times,  as  the  balance  of  power  between  the  rival  nations  has 
approached  nearer  and  nearer  to  equilibrium.  At  the  present 
moment,  it  may  be  said  that  the  power  which  could  operate 
with  Switzerland  as  a  basis  could  dictate  the  terms  of  peace ; 
so  that  the  absolute  neutrality  of  this  territory  is  essential  to 
the  very  existence  of  modern  Europe. 

To  examine  the  situation  from  a  purely  military  standpoint : 
What  are  the  chances  of  Swiss  territory  being  invaded  during 
the  next  great  war?  The  advantages  which  certain  powers 
would  find  in  pushing  troops  through  Switzerland,  in  order 
to  attack  their  rivals  upon  the  flank,  are  so  great  that  the 


THE  NEUTRALITY  OF  SWITZERLAND.         359 

temptation  could  not  be  resisted,  if  only  military  considera- 
tions were  allowed  to  have  the  upper  hand.  In  case  of  a  duel 
between  France  and  Germany,  the  likelihood  of  such  a  viola- 
tion is  not  great,  for  the  invading  nation  would  immediately 
find  Switzerland  making  common  cause  with  the  enemy,  and, 
in  the  present  state  of  affairs,  this  slight  advantage  might 
decide  the  issue ;  but  since  the  formation  of  the  Triple  Alli- 
ance the  risk  has  measurably  increased.  A  glance  at  the  map 
reveals  Germany  on  the  north,  Austria  on  the  east,  and  Italy 
on  the  south,  leagued  together  against  France  on  the  west. 
Switzerland  is,  therefore,  completely  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of 
armies,  eager  to  attack  each  other  across  her  territory.  Aus- 
tria perhaps,  would  not  need  to  make  use  of  Swiss  soil,  for, 
according  to  present  indications,  all  her  available  troops  would 
be  engaged  in  a  struggle  with  Russia;  nor  would  Germany, 
apparently,  gain  very  much  by  such  a  move,  for,  after  crossing 
Switzerland,  she  would  be  confronted  by  a  strong  line  in 
France,  Belfort-Besancon  and  Lyons.  But  the  right  of  pas- 
sage would  be  undoubtedly  of  inestimable  value  to  France  and 
Italy.  The  former  could,  in  twenty-four  hours,  throw  a  large 
force  upon  Germany's  unprotected  flank,  the  line  Basel- 
Schaffhausen-Constance ;  while  the  latter  could  reach  France 
by  the  undefended  Swiss  passes  of  the  Simplon  and  the  Great 
St.  Bernard,  and  by  the  Lake  of  Geneva.  The  chances  are, 
consequently,  that  if  Swiss  neutrality  were  violated  at  all,  it 
would  be  by  the  French  and  the  Italians ;  and  there  seems  to 
be  no  doubt  that,  whichever  of  these  powers  made  the  first 
move,  the  other  would  immediately  follow  suit  by  hastily 
throwing  forward  an  army  to  check  the  enemy's  advance. 
Switzerland  would  then  again  become  the  seat  of  war,  as  in 
1799. 

In  view  cf  this  military  situation,  what  resistance  could  the 
Swiss  offer  to  the  invaders  ?  Of  course,  no  one  pretends  that 
they  could  hold  their  own  single-handed,  even  against  an  isola- 
ted European  power,  for  any  length  of  time,  but  the  necessity 
for  such  action  is  scarcely  imaginable.  If  the  Swiss  were 


360          THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

called  upon  to  fight  at  all,  it  would  be  only  to  hold  certain  posi- 
tions until  the  friendly  powers  could  come  to  their  aid,  and  not 
to  carry  on  great  offensive  operations.  For  defensive  pur- 
poses, the  Swiss  have  organized  a  militia  force  which,  compris- 
ing all  the  reserves,  in  1899,  numbered  no  less  than  509,707 
men,  although  the  total  population  of  the  country  is  little  over 
3,000,000  inhabitants.  This  army  is  not  a  parade  force  ;  it 
has  certain  weaknesses  which  are  inseparable  from  militias 
everywhere,  but  it  is  complete  in  every  detail,  can  be  rapidly 
mobilized,  and  does  not  drain  the  resources  of  the  nation  like  a 
standing  army.  If  the  Swiss  soldier  looks  slovenly,  he  is,  at 
the  same  time,  the  best  average  shot  in  the  world,  and  yields  to 
no  one  in  his  readiness  to  sacrifice  his  life  in  the  holy  cause  of 
liberty.  On  the  whole,  the  chances  of  Switzerland's  perform- 
ing her  part  creditably  in  the  next  war  would  be  favorable ; 
she  would  do  her  duty. 

So  much  for  the  purely  military  side  of  the  question  ;  but, 
fortunately,  there  is  another  and  a  higher  aspect  of  the  case. 
A  moral  principle  is  involved,  which  is  of  far  greater  import- 
ance to  the  European  powers,  and  is  therefore  more  likely  to 
triumph  in  the  end.  For  it  must  be  remembered  that  Europe, 
at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  gave  her  word  to  Switzerland  that 
her  neutrality  should  be  respected ;  so  that,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  trustworthiness  of  international  agreements  in  gen- 
eral is  at  stake.  It  seems  hardly  likely  that  any  of  the  rival 
powers  would  be  willing  to  incur  the  odium  of  being  the  first 
to  break  this  engagement  with  a  small  but  highly  respected 
and  useful  state.  Public  opinion,  the  world  over,  would 
promptly  turn  against  that  nation ;  and  even  Bismarck  was 
forced  to  acknowledge  that  it  is  worth  something  to  have 
the  moral  support  of  outsiders  in  a  great  contest. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  would  have  weight  in 
determining  the  conduct  of  the  powers  toward  Swiss  neutral- 
ity. As  no  one  can  suspect  Switzerland  of  seeking  territorial 
conquests  or  laying  plans  for  self-aggrandizement,  she  has,  in 
these  days,  become  the  centre  of  many  international  unions,  and 


THE  NEUTRALITY  OF  SWITZERLAND.          361 

the  powers  have  acquired  the  habit  of  referring  some  of  their 
disputes  to  her  for  abitration.  This  movement  was  inaugurated 
in  1864,  by  the  memorable  convention  for  the  protection  of 
the  wounded,  held  in  Geneva.  Soon  after  that  date,  Bern  was 
selected  as  the  centre  for  the  permanent  administration  of  the 
International  Telegraph  Union;  in  1871,  followed  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Alabama  Claims  by  a  tribunal  of  arbitration 
assembled  at  Geneva, — an  act  which  gave  a  wonderful  moral 
impulse  to  the  cause  of  international  arbitration.  Since  then 
a  number  of  central  offices  have  been  constituted  at  Bern,  such 
as  those  for  the  International  Postal  Union,  for  the  regulation 
of  freight  transport  upon  the  Continent,  and  for  the  protection 
of  industrial,  literary,  and  artistic  property.  When  we  take 
into  consideration  that  these  international  officers  are  the  only 
ones  in  existence,  except  the  purely  scientific  Bureau  du  Mhre 
in  Paris,  it  becomes  evident  how  highly  the  use  of  this  neutral 
meeting-ground  is  valued  by  the  European  powers,  and  how 
loath  they  would  be  to  part  with  it. 

The  following  significant  words  upon  this  subject  occur  in  a 
report  made  to  the  English  government,  in  1885,  by  one  of  its 
agents  abroad :  "  It  is  difficult,  when  passing  through  the 
quiet  streets  of  Bern,  to  realize  the  importance  of  the  opera- 
tions which  are  being  unobtrusively  carried  on,  or  the  world- 
wide scope  of  the  interests  involved.  Yet  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  these  interests  form  a  more  effectual  guarantee 
for  the  preservation  of  Switzerland  as  an  independent  state 
than  any  other  that  could  be  devised.  .  .  .  No  one,  finally, 
who  has  lived  for  even  a  few  years  in  Switzerland,  and  has 
learnt  to  appreciate  the  practical  good  sense  so  largely  pre- 
vailing in  that  energetic  little  country,  will  hesitate  to 
rejoice  at  the  destiny  which  now,  more  than  ever  before, 
seems  assured  to  it,  of  retaining  an  honored  place  among  the 
nations."1 

It  may  be  that  the  example  of  Switzerland  is  destined  to 

1  Reports  from  her  Majesty's  Diplomatic  and  Consular  Officers  Abroad.  Part 
IV.,  Commercial,  No.  26  (1885). 


362  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

accomplish  great  results  in  the  world's  history,  for,  in  truth, 
there  are  tremendous  possibilities  in  this  principle  of  perpetual 
neutrality.  It  supplies  a  means  of  arriving  at  a  semblance,  if 
nothing  better,  of  a  permanent  international  peace. 

There  are,  at  present,  several  other  neutral  states,  and  it  only 
remains  for  the  powers  to  extend  this  privilege  gradually  to  all 
the  contested  points  on  the  map  "of  Europe  in  order  to  make 
war  unnecessary,  and  in  time  impossible.  Belgium's  neutrality 
is  guaranteed  by  England,  and  the  little  duchy  of  Luxembourg 
is  also  neutral  territory,  according  to  international  treaty.  It 
will  be  seen  by  looking  into  an  atlas  that,  if  Alsace-Lorraine 
could  be  declared  neutral,  there  would  be  an  unbroken  band  of 
neutral  soil  from  Belgium  to  Switzerland,  effectually  shutting 
off  all  approach  from  France  to  Germany.  Is  it  too  much  to 
expect  sensible  counsels  to  prevail  yet  awhile  in  this  much- 
vexed  question  ?  If  so,  perhaps  in  a  few  years,  when  the  two 
nations  have  begun  to  feel  that  the  weight  of  their  enormous 
armaments  is  too  great  for  endurance,  and  have  drunk  to  the 
depths  the  bitterness  of  this  enforced  peace,  they  will  resort  to 
some  such  compromise,  rather  than  prolong  an  impossible  situ- 
ation. In  other  parts  of  Europe  there  are  little  independen- 
cies, whose  neutrality  is  carefully  respected  by  the  powers, 
such  as  San  Marino  in  Italy,  Andorra  in  Spain,  Liechtenstein 
in  Austria,  and  Monaco  on  the  boundary  between  France  and 
Italy ;  they  are  all  witnesses  to  the  fact  that  neutralities  can 
be  maintained  even  in  the  very  midst  of  great  nations.  Only 
the  other  day,  the  powers  united  in  a  sort  of  joint  protectorate 
over  the  Congo  Basin,  and  established  the  principle  of  optional 
arbitration  in  cases  of  dispute;  while  England,  Germany,  and 
the  United  States  have,  since  then,  made  certain  agreements 
as  regards  the  Samoan  Islands.  Think  how  the  stability  of 
peace  would  gain  by  the  neutralization  of  such  debatable  ground 
as  the  Balkan  peninsula  and  Egypt!  Not  long  ago,  it  was 
proposed  in  the  parliaments  of  Sweden  and  Denmark  to  labor 
for  the  perpetual  neutralization  of  those  two  countries.  And 
so  the  movement  might  grow,  until,  all  over  the  earth,  there 


THE  NEUTRALITY  OF  SWITZERLAND.          363 

would  be  neutral  zones  from  which  war  would  be  ostracized  as 
a  thing  unclean. 

Look  at  Switzerland  as  she  is  even  now.  Does  she  not 
stand  for  a  representation  —  on  a  small  scale  and  imperfectly, 
it  may  be  —  of  what  poets  and  philosophers  have  pictured  to 
themselves  the  world  might  some  day  become  ?  Is  she  not 
already,  in  her  way,  a  miniature  Parliament  of  Man  ?  For  she 
is  not  a  national  unit,  like  France  or  Spain,  existing  as  such  in 
spite  of  herself.  The  nucleus  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  was 
perhaps  formed  by  nature  to  be  free  and  independent,  but  the 
outlying  districts  joined  the  Union  of  their  own  accord  ;  in 
other  words,  it  is  the  will  of  the  Swiss  people  and  their  fixed 
determination  which  keep  them  united.  Consider  the  mix- 
ture, of  races  and  religions  which  they  represent.  Of  the 
twenty-two  Cantons,  thirteen  are  German  speaking,  four  are 
French  ;  in  three  German  and  French  both  are  spoken,  in  one 
Italian,  and  in  another  Romansch.  The  population  of  Ger- 
man Switzerland  is  almost  purely  Teutonic ;  that  of  French 
Switzerland  about  half-and-half  Teutonic  and  Celto-Roman; 
while  Italian  and  Romansch  Switzerland  can  boast  of  Celto- 
Roman,  Ostro-Gothic,  and  even  Etruscan  elements.  Some 
of  these  Cantons  are  Protestant,  others  Roman  Catholic,  and 
others,  again,  have  a  mixed  population  of  both  faiths.  If 
these  incongruous,  often  antagonistic  Cantons  can  meet  upon 
some  common  plane  and  conform  to  some  standard,  can  live 
side  by  side  in  peace  and  prosperity,  surely  the  task  of  some 
day  uniting  the  nations  of  the  world  upon  a  similar  basis  is 
not  altogether  hopeless  and  chimerical. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

TWENTIETH-CENTURY   SWITZERLAND. 

THE  twentieth  century  finds  Switzerland  progressing  along 
the  lines  laid  down  by  her  people  during  the  second  half 
of  the  nineteenth.    She  is  solving  her  political  problems  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  of  direct  government,  and  her  social  and 
economic    difficulties  according  to  her  national  motto,  "  All 

*.    for  Each  and  Each  for  All," 

Her  success  has  attracted  the  attention  of  thinkers  in 
many  countries,  and  her  example  has  stimulated  the  efforts 
of  earnest  reformers  everywhere.  She  has  demonstrated  the 
practicability  of  the  Referendum,  the  Initiative,  and  Propor- 
tional Representation.  She  has  shown  the  world  the  advan- 
tages of  holding  large  tracts  of  land  in  common,  and  how  to 
maintain  an  efficient  army  with  the  minimum  of  professional 
soldiers.  She  has  established  a  Federal  alcohol  monopoly, 
and  her  government  ownership  of  the  telegraph  and  telephone 
systems  has  proved  so  satisfactory,  that  she  has  decided  to 
extend  it  also  to  the  railroads. 

Although  her  area  is  not  even  one-third  as  great  as  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  fully  one-third  of  her  territory  is  hope- 
lessly unproductive,  being  covered  with  mountain  ranges, 

<  glaciers  and  lakes,  nevertheless,  with  the  opening  of  the  new 
century,  her  population  has  passed  the  three-million  mark. 
Although  she  possesses  not  a  single  coal-mine,  nor  a  foot  of  sea- 
coast,  and  is  obliged  to  import  her  raw  materials  against  high 
freight  charges  and  often  against  hostile  tariffs,  yet  she  is 
making  rapid  progress  in  manufacturing  and  trade,  and  in  the 

.    arts  and  sciences.     The  signs  of  orderly  well-being  multiply  on 

*  every  hand.  Contentment  and  good  cheer  reign  in  the  little 
Republic. 

Among  the  causes  which  have  contributed  to  this  substan- 
tial progress  some  are  political,  and  some  social  and  economic, 

364 


TWENTIETH-CENTURY  SWITZERLAND.         365 

but  undoubtedly  the  temper  of  mutual  helpfulness  which  charac- 
terizes the  Swiss  has  helped  mightily  to  bring  all  reforms  to 
full  fruition. 

The  Referendum  and  the  Initiative  have  already  been  ex- 
plained in  a  previous  chapter.  A  word  may,  therefore,  be  said 
here  concerning  Proportional  Representation. 

Students  of  the  representative  system  of  government  have 
long  since  observed  certain  flaws  in  its  practical  application. 
It  has  been  calculated,  for  instance,  that  no  less  than  two-fifths 
of  the  voters  are  unrepresented  in  the  Parliament  of  England, 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  Federal  As- 
sembly of  Switzerland.  It  has  been  found  that  parties  are 
rarely  represented  according  to  their  numerical  strength.  It 
is  to  correct  these  injustices  that  various  systems  of  Proportional 
Representation  have  been  proposed.  Ideal  conditions  may  be 
illustrated  by  the  following  example  : 

Suppose  an  imaginary  state  is  to  elect  ten  representatives 
with  1,000  votes.  Then  every  party  which  can  muster  one- 
tenth  of  the  total,  or  100  votes,  ought  to  be  entitled  to  one  rep- 
resentative. The  number  of  votes  divided  by  the  number  of 
representatives  to  be  elected  is  called  the  electoral  quotient. 
In  this  case  it  is  100.  If  this  imaginary  state  contains  400  Re- 
publicans, 300  Democrats,  200  Populists,  and  100  Prohibi- 
tionists, its  legislature  ought  to  be  composed  of  4  Republicans, 
3  Democrats,  2  Populists,  and  I  Prohibitionist.  Under  present 
conditions  the  Populists  and  Prohibitionists  could  not  elect 
their  candidates  at  all,  while  the  slight  preponderance  of 
Republicans  over  Democrats  would  probably  allow  the  former 
to  sweep  the  state. 

The  manner  in  which  Proportional  Representation  was  in- 
troduced into  Switzerland  is  not  without  interest.  To  the 
Italian-speaking  canton  of  Ticino  belongs  the  honor  of  adopt- 
ing this  reform  in  1891,  although  the  nation  at  large  had  de- 
bated it  for  years. 

There  had  been  for  some  time  a  good  deal  of  bickering  and 
quarreling  between  the  two  principal  parties  in  Ticino,  the  Con- 
servatives and  the  Liberals,  but  the  main  cause  of  dissension 


366          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

was  the  glaringly  unjust  representation  of  the  two  parties  in 
the  Grand  Council,  which  is  the  single  assembly  of  the  canton. 
The  official  figures  for  the  election  of  representatives  to  that 
house  on  the  3d  of  March,  1889,  were  as  follows  :  There  were 
112  deputies  to  elect ;  of  these  the  Conservatives  with  12,653 
ballots  returned  seventy-seven  members,  while  the  Liberals 
with  12,008  (a  handful  less)  returned  only  thirty-five.  Out  of  a 
total  vote  of  24,671  it  was  calculated  that  9,157  were  unrepre- 
sented. 

Finally,  in  September  of  1890,  an  insurrection  broke  out 
which  led  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Conservative  Government. 
After  a  provisional  government  had  restored  order,  it  was  soon 
seen  that  the  only  way  of  ending  the  strife  in  Ticino  was  to 
adopt  some  form  of  Proportional  Representation.  This  was 
done,  and  since  then  the  cantons  Neuchatel,  Geneva,  Zug,  Fri- 
bourg,  Basel,  Luzern,  and  Solothurn  have  followed  the  example 
of  Ticino  with  most  satisfactory  results.  It  will  not  be  long 
before  the  Federal  Assembly  itself  is  elected  on  this  same 
prnciple. 

The  plan  introduced  into  Switzerland  is  that  of  the  Free 
List,  with  local  variations.  Each  party  establishes  its  list  of 
candidates,  which  must  be  officially  certified.  Each  elector  has 
as  many  votes  as  there  are  candidates  to  be  elected.  No  cumu- 
lation of  votes  is  permitted,  but  provision  is  made  for  marking 
preferences.  In  counting  ballots,  the  judges  are  obliged  to  as- 
certain the  number  of  votes  cast  for  each  party  and  for  each 
candidate,  as  well  as  to  determine  the  electoral  quotient.  Each 
party  elects  as  many  representatives  as  it  has  received  electoral 
quotients.  If  there  are  places  left  over  after  this  process,  they 
are  assigned  to  the  party  polling  the  largest  vote. 
t'j  \  Turning  now  to  an  economic  subject,  what  has  Switzer- 
land to  say  upon  the  Land  Question  ?  Nothing  final,  it  is 
true,  but  the  treatment  of  public,  common  lands  in  that  coun- 
try is  full  of  suggestions. 

The  Swiss  people  have  from  the  earliest  times  operated  a 
crude  system  of  communism  in  their  midst.  In  the  valleys 
they  set  apart  almends,  or  commons,  and  in  the  mountains  alps, 


TWENTIETH-CENTURY  SWITZERLAND.        367 

or  summer  pastures,  for  the  use  of  the  community.  By  this 
means  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  land  in  every  gemeinde,  or  com- 
mune, has  not  been  allowed  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  private 
owners,  but  has  been  reserved  for  public  use.  We  have  a 
reminiscence  of  this  in  the  commons  of  England  and  New 
England,  though  the  resemblance  does  not  go  very  far ;  for 
the  Swiss  almend,  in  its  wider  sense,  consists  of  forest,  pasture, 
and  meadow  land,  and,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  ground, 
sometimes  also  of  marshy  land  for  rushes  and  peat. 

In  spring  the  cattle  are  driven  up  into  the  mountains,  and 
take  possession  of  the  pastures  as  the  snow  recedes,  reaching 
their  highest  feeding-ground  at  the  end  of  August.  The  tech- 
nical term  for  these  grazing  lands,  alps,  is  to  be  carefully  dis- 
tinguished from  the  general  name  of  Alps,  spelt  with  a  capital 
letter,  and  given  to  the  great  mountain  range  that  traverses 
Europe. 

The  use  of  these  summer  pastures  goes  back  to  the  period 
of  the  earliest  settlements.  In  fact,  remains  of  ancient  huts 
have  been  found,  known  locally  as  Heidenhuttchen,  which 
seem  to  date  from  Raeto-Roman  times,  before  the  advent  of 
Germanic  tribes  into  Switzerland. 

There  are  between  4000  and  5000  regular  alps  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  country.  It  is  only  natural, 
therefore,  that  the  manner  of  using  them  should  vary  very 
much.  In  some  cantons  they  are  managed  collectively  by  the 
communes,  in  others  they  are  rented  out  to  private  individuals. 
As  a  rule  each  citizen  has  the  right  to  send  up  a  certain  num- 
ber of  cows  for  the  summer,  and  on  specified  days  the  average 
yield  and  total  production  of  each  cow  is  computed,  so  that 
the  proper  division  of  the  resulting  butter  and  cheese  may  be 
made. 

By  treating  at  least  some  of  the  total  supply  of  land  as 
common  property,  the  Swiss  not  only  exclude  the  possibility 
of  the  complete  monopolization  of  land  by  a  small  coterie  of 
landowners,  but  at  the  same  time  provide  themselves  with  a 
safe  and  equitable  system  of  revenue  to  be  expended  for  pub- 
lic purposes.  It  is  principally  owing  to  this  system  that  the 


368          THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Swiss  gemeinden,  or  communes,  are  almost  entirely  free  from 
debt  and  able  to  live  on  their  own  incomes. 

The  army  of  Switzerland  may  be  termed  without  exagger- 
ation the  most  efficient  militia  force  in  existence  to-day. 

The  first  clause  of  Article  18  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
says:  "Every  Swiss  is  bound  to  perform  military  service." 
At  stated  dates  every  year,  all"  young  men  who  have  come  of 
age  go  before  an  examining  board,  consisting  of  military  offi- 
cers and  physicians.  They  are  subjected  to  an  examination 
in  the  rudiments  of  learning,  and  are  tested  to  see  if  they  come 
up  to  the  rather  easy  requirements  in  physical  condition,  de- 
manded of  Swiss  recruits.  Those  who  have  successfully  sus- 
tained these  tests  are  drafted  into  the  different  branches  of 
the  service,  according  to  their  special  aptitudes,  and  are  sent 
to  recruiting  schools  scattered  over  the  country, — the  infantry 
for  a  term  of  forty-five  days,  the  artillery  for  fifty-five,  the 
cavalry  for  sixty,  and  the  engineers  for  fifty.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  recruits  who  are  unable  to  pass  their  examinations 
in  the  rudiments  of  learning  are  obliged  to  attend  special  re- 
cruits' schools,  while  those  who  are  found  to  be  physically  in- 
capacitated pay  an  annual  tax  of  exemption.  So  severe  are 
the  regulations  in  this  regard  that  even  Swiss  citizens  living 
in  foreign  countries  are  required  to  pay  this  tax. 

Upon  issuing  from  the  recruiting  schools,  the  young  men, 
now  trained  to  be  regular  soldiers,  join  the  active  army,  the 
Elite  as  it  is  called  in  French,  the  Auszug  in  German,  until 
they  are  thirty-two  years  old,  being  required  to  join  the  ranks 
every  other  year  for  regular  drills, — the  cavalry  every  year  on 
account  of  the  greater  amount  of  training  demanded  by  that 
branch  of  the  service.  The  soldier  then  passes  from  the 
Elite  into  the  Landwehr,  until  he  is  forty-four,  and  finally 
enters  the  Landsturm,  which  comprises  all  men  capable  of 
bearing  arms,  between  the  ages  of  seventeen  and  fifty,  who 
are  not  in  the  Elite  or  the  Landwehr.  According  to  the 
statistics  for  1899  the  active  army  numbered  148,435,  the  first 
reserve  85,676,  and  the  second  275,596, — making  an  astound- 


TWENTIETH-CENTURY  SWITZERLAND.        369 

ing  total  of  509,707  armed  men  out  of  a  population  of  a  trifle 
over  three  million  souls. 

It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the  Swiss  military 
establishment  that  every  soldier  keeps  his  outfit  at  home, 
ready  for  immediate  use  when  the  summons  may  come.  The 
third  clause  of  Article  18  of  the  constitution  provides  that: 
"  Each  soldier  shall  receive  without  expense  his  first  equip- 
ment, clothing,  and  arms.  The  weapon  remains  in  the  hands 
of  the  soldier,  under  conditions  which  shall  be  prescribed  by 
federal  legislation."  Rigid  inspections  of  arms  are  held  an- 
nually in  each  district,  and  if  repairs  are  made  necessary  by 
any  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  soldier,  they  are  executed 
at  his  own  expense.  The  Schmidt  rifle,  with  which  the  army 
has  now  been  supplied,  is  of  the  magazine  type,  burning 
smokeless  powder. 

As  one  might  expect  of  a  citizen  army,  the  uniforms  are 
simple,  but  serviceable.  The  headdress  for  all  arms  is  a  kind 
of  low  shako  (in  German  Kdppiy  in  French  ktpi\  made  of 
stiff  felt  with  fore-and-aft  peaks.  It  is  adorned  with  a  colored 
worsted  pompon,  or  cockade,  to  denote  the  wearer's  particular 
branch  of  the  service.  Dark-blue  tunics  and  dark-gray  trou- 
sers are  the  rule,  except  green  tunics  for  sharpshooters  and 
cavalry,  and  complete  light-blue  uniforms  for  surgeons.  In 
fact  this  latter  uniform  is  the  only  brilliant  one  in  the  Swiss 
army.  The  rank  of  the  officers  is  indicated  by  the  number  of 
narrow  lace  bands  on  the  headdress,  and  of  stars  on  the 
shoulder-straps.  During  active  service  all  officers  and  men 
wear  the  Federal  badge  on  the  left  arm,  a  broad  red  ribbon 
bearing  a  white  cross. 

True  to  their  deep-rooted,  Federal  instinct,  the  Swiss  do  not 
admit  a  commander-in-chief  in  times,  of  peace,  but  content 
themselves  with  a  general  staff  composed  of  three  colonels, 
sixteen  lieutenant-colonels  or  majors,  and  thirty-five  captains. 
In  case  of  war,  however,  a  general  would  immediately  be 
elected  by  the  Federal  Assembly  to  take  supreme  command. 
Military  law  is  administered  by  a  special  judiciary  staff,  in 


370          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

accordance  with  an  elaborate  law  passed  on  the  28th  of  June, 
1889. 

Among  the  most  interesting  subjects  connected  with  the 
Swiss  army  are  the  regulations  in  regard  to  pensions.  Short 
and  simple  as  is  the  constitutional  enactment  upon  this  subject, 
it  is  worthy  of  serious  attention.  The  second  clause  of  Article 
1 8  says  :  "  Soldiers  who  lose  their  lives  or  suffer  permanent 
injury  to  their  health  in  consequence  of  Federal  service  are 
entitled  to  aid  from  the  Republic  for  themselves  or  their  fam- 
ilies, in  case  of  need."  Observe  these  words,  "  in  case  of  need"; 
they  speak  volumes.  Moreover,  the  amount  of  such  pensions 
has  been  limited  by  special  law  to  a  sum  of  1,200  francs  ($240), 
paid  down,  or  to  an  annual  pension  of  650  francs  ($130), 
according  to  the  gravity  of  the  case  and  the  poverty  of  the 
family.  As  reward  for  special  bravery  on  the  part  of  the  pen- 
sioners these  sums  can  be  doubled. 

If  one  were  asked  to  designate  the  particular  quality  which 
distinguishes  the  Swiss  army  from  all  others,  one  would  point 
to  the  comparative  absence  of  class  distinctions  within  the 
ranks.  This  model  militia  is  as  democratic  as  an  efficient  army 
can  be.  When  the  drill  is  over,  the  officer  and  the  private 
may  be  seen  plowing  in  the  fields  together,  or  working  in  the 
same  factory.  They  are  real  brothers  in  arms. 

Between  the  years  1848  and  1898  the  Federal  Referendum 
has  been  used  forty-eight  times.  Twenty-nine  bills  have  been 
rejected  by  the  Swiss  people,  and  only  nineteen  accepted. 
Among  the  latter  the  two  most  important  ones  have  been  those 
creating  a  Federal  alcohol  monopoly,  and  instituting  govern- 
ment ownership  of  railroads. 

A  law  was  passed  on  October  25th,  1885,  and  came  into 
force  in  1887,  by  which  the  importation  of  alcohol  and  the  dis- 
tillation of  potatoes,  cereals  and  foreign  fruit  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  state.  The  distillation  of  home-grown  fruit  and 
the  importation  of  foreign  fruit-brandies,  however,  remained 
free.  The  state  supplied  retailers  with  spirits  in  wholesale 
quantities. 

In  order  to  help  the  cause  of  temperance,  the  law  decreed 


TWENTIETH-CENTURY  SWITZERLAND.          371 

that  the  total  profits  of  the  monopoly  should  not  be  retained 
by  the  Federal  government,  but  should  be  divided  among  the 
cantons  according  to  population,  with  the  special  proviso  that 
one-tenth  of  each  canton's  share  should  be  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  combating  intemperance.  The  total  amount  to  be 
divided  in  1898  was  about  1,290,667  dollars.  In  practice  it  has 
been  found  rather  difficult  for  the  cantons  to  determine  exactly 
what  agencies  or  institutions  could  be  considered  as  combating 
intemperance,  and  therefore  entitled  to  financial  aid,  but  the 
general  result  of  the  Federal  alcohol  monopoly  has  been  to 
effect  a  great  saving  for  the  country  at  large  by  abolishing 
certain  cumbersome  cantonal  taxes  which  were  very  costly  to 
collect.  It  has,  moreover,  wiped  out  the  largest  as  well  as  the 
smallest  distilleries,  leaving  only  those  of  moderate  capacity. 
It  has  decreased  the  consumption  of  spirits,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  has  increased  the  consumption  of  wine  and  beer.  As 
a  financial  measure  the  Federal  alcohol  monopoly  has  proved 
itself  to  be  a  decided  success ;  as  a  means  of  inculcating  tem- 
perance it  is  variously  estimated  by  different  investigators,  ac- 
cording to  the  views  entertained  by  them  concerning  the 
problem  of  intemperance  itself. 

Of  vital  importance  and  of  special  interest  to  foreign 
observers  is  Switzerland's  experiment  in  government  owner- 
ship of  railroads.  * 

Ever  since  the  first  Swiss  railroad  was  built,  the  Swiss  people 
have  discussed  periodically  this  subject  of  complete  govern- 
ment construction,  ownership  and  operation.  The  Federal 
government  has  managed  the  postal  system  since  the  reorgan- 
ization of  1848  ;  it  has  managed  the  telegraph  and  telephone 
systems  since  those  inventions  came  into  use  in  Switzerland. 
In  1852,  when  railroad  construction  first  began  on  an  exten- 
sive scale,  the  question  of  government  construction,  ownership 
and  operation  of  railroads  came  up  for  discussion  in  the  Fed- 
eral Assembly,  but  the  Assembly  voted  for  private  construc- 
tion, ownership  and  operation.  Nevertheless  laws  were  passed, 
from  time  to  time,  extending  the  control  of  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment over  the  management  of  the  railroads,  until  in  1890 


372          THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

and  1891  government  ownership  virtually  began,  when  the 
Federal  government  bought  a  controlling  share  in  the  stock  of 
the  Jura-Simplon  line. 

Finally  on  February  2Oth,  1898,  the  Swiss  people  by  means 
of  the  Referendum  decided,  by  the  enormous  majority  of  over 
200,000  votes,  that  the  state  should  purchase  and  operate  all 
the  main  Swiss  railroads.  There  are  about  1700  miles  of  rail- 
road, and  the  purchase-price  is  variously  estimated  at  between 
186,000,000  and  200,000,000  dollars.  The  original  owners 
of  stock  are  to  be  bought  out,  and  bonds  issued  bearing 
3^  per  cent,  interest.  The  number  of  men  employed  on  the 
railroads  will  be  about  25,000.  The  Federal  government 
is  now  buying  one  line  after  another.  On  February  22d, 
1899,  the  Federal  Council  took  charge  of  the  Swiss  North  East 
Line,  and  favorable  effects  have  already  been  observed  in  the 
reduction  and  uniformity  of  rates.  The  other  lines  are  to 
follow,  the  United  Swiss  Line,  the  Swiss  Central,  and  eventu- 
ally the  St.  Gothard  Line. 

The  campaign  which  preceded  the  vote  by  means  of  the 
Referendum  was  unusually  lively.  The  opposition  cited  the 
enormous  debt  which  Switzerland  would  incur,  the  inevitable 
increase  of  employes,  and  dwelt  upon  the  various  objections 
which  are  generally  urged  against  government  ownership  of 
railroads,  but  the  voters  were  undeterred  from  their  purpose. 

Every  voter  received  a  copy  of  the  law  dealing  with  the 
details  of  the  purchase,  the  issuance  of  bonds,  the  operation 
of  the  railroads,  the  payment  of  the  employes,  and  the  provi- 
sions made  for  their  insurance  against  accident  and  death. 
Finally,  after  the  Referendum  had  been  taken,  the  news  of  the 
result  was  sent  free  of  charge  by  the  government  to  all  parts 
of  Switzerland. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  world  is  watching  this 
experiment  with  close  attention,  and  that  the  solution  which 
certain  social  and  economic  problems  are  to  find  depends 
largely  upon  the  measure  of  its  success. 


APPENDIX. 


FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  Swiss  CONFEDERATION,1  OF 

MAY  29,   1874. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  ALMIGHTY  GOD. 

THE  Swiss  Confederation,  desiring  to  confirm  the  alliance 
of   the  Confederates,   to  maintain  and  to  promote  the 
unity,  strength,  and  honor  of  the  Swiss  nation,  has  adopted 
the  Federal  Constitution  following  : 

CHAPTER  I.    GENERAL  PROVISIONS. 

ARTICLE  FIRST.  The  peoples  of  the  twenty-two  sovereign 
Cantons  of  Switzerland,  united  by  this  present  alliance,  viz. : 

Zurich,  Bern,  Luzern,  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden  (Upper 
and  Lower),  Glarus,  Zug,  Freiburg,  Solothurn,  Basel  (urban 
and  rural),  Schaffhausen,  Appenzell  (the  two  Rhodes),  St. 

1  This  translation  of  the  Constitution  of  Switzerland  has  been  made  from  the 
parallel  French  and  German  texts  by  Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Assistant  Professor  of 
History  in  Harvard  College.  The  copy  or  proofs  of  the  translation  have  been 
submitted  to  Profs.  S.  M.  Macvane  and  Adolphe  Cohn  of  Harvard  College,  Prof. 
Bernard  Moses  of  the  University  of  California,  Prof.  Woodrow  Wilson  of  Wes- 
leyan  University,  Prof.  R.  Hudson  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  Mr.  J.  M. 
Vincent,  Librarian  of  the  Department  of  History  and  Politics,  Johns  Hopkins 
University  —  from  all  of  whom  helpful  suggestions  have  been  received.  The 
translation  adheres  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  form  of  the  French  version,  since 
the  French  idioms  more  closely  approach  the  usual  phraseology  of  American  pol- 
itical documents.  Amendments  passed  up  to  1892  have,  in  accordance  with  Swiss 
usage,  been  incorporated  in  their  logical  place  in  the  text.  —  Reprinted,  by  permis- 
sion, from  "  Old  South  Leaflets?  General  Series,  No.  /<?,  with  more  recent  amend- 
ments added  by  the  Author. 

373 


374  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Gallen,  Grisons,  Aargau,  Thurgau,  Ticino,  Vaud,  Valais, 
Neuchatel,  and  Geneva,  form  in  their  entirety  the  Swiss 
Confederation. 

ART.  2.  The  purpose  of  the  Confederation  is,  to  secure  the 
independence  of  the  country  against  foreign  nations,  to  main- 
tain peace  and  order  within,  to  protect  the  liberty  and  the 
rights  of  the  Confederates,  and  to  foster  their  common  welfare. 

ART.  3.  The  Cantons  are  sovereign,  so  far  as  their  sov- 
ereignty is  not  limited  by  the  Federal  Constitution;  and,  as 
such,  they  exercise  all  the  rights  which  are  not  delegated  to 
the  federal  government. 

ART.  4.  All  Swiss  are  equal  before  the  law.  In  Switzer- 
land there  are  neither  political  dependents,  nor  privileges  of 
place,  birth,  persons,  or  families. 

ART.  5.  The  Confederation  guarantees  to  the  Cantons 
their  territory,  their  sovereignty,  within  the  limits  fixed  by 
Article  3,  their  Constitutions,  the  liberty  and  rights  of  the 
people,  the  constitutional  rights  of  citizens,  and  the  rights  and 
powers  which  the  people  have  conferred  on  those  in  authority. 

ART.  6.  The  Cantons  are  bound  to  ask  of  the  Confedera- 
tion the  guaranty  of  their  Constitutions. 

This  guaranty  is  accorded,  provided  : 

(a)  That  the  Constitutions  contain  nothing  contrary  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

(b)  That  they  assure  the  exercise  of  political  rights,  accord- 
ing to  republican  forms,  representative  or  democratic. 

(c)  That  they  have  been  ratified  by  the  people,  and  may  be 
amended  whenever  the  majority  of  all  the  citizens  demand  it. 

ART.  7.  All  separate  alliances  and  all  treaties4  of  a  politi- 
cal character  between  the  Cantons  are  forbidden. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Cantons  have  the  right  to  make  con- 
ventions among  themselves  upon  legislative,  administrative,  or 
judicial  subjects;  in  all  cases  they  shall  bring  such  conventions 
to  the  attention  of  the  federal  officials,  who  are  authorized  to 
prevent  their  execution,  if  they  contain  anything  contrary  to 
the  Confederation,  or  to  the  rights  of  other  Cantons.  Should 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS   CONFEDERATION.  375 

such  not  be  the  case,  the  covenanting  Cantons  are  authorized 
to  require  the  cooperation  of  the  federal  officials  in  carrying 
out  the  convention. 

ART.  8.  The  Confederation  has  the  sole  right  of  declaring 
war,  of  making  peace,  and  of  concluding  alliances  and  treat- 
ies with  foreign  powers,  particularly  treaties  relating  to  tariffs 
and  commerce. 

ART.  9.  By  exception  the  Cantons  preserve  the  right  of 
concluding  treaties  with  foreign  powers,  respecting  the  admin- 
istration of  public  property,  and  border  and  police  intercourse ; 
but  such  treaties  shall  contain  nothing  contrary  to  the  Confed- 
eration or  to  the  rights  of  other  Cantons. 

ART.  10.  Official  intercourse  between  Cantons  and  foreign 
governments,  or  their  representatives,  shall  take  place  through 
the  Federal  Cpjincij. 

Nevertheless,  the  Cantons  may  correspond  directly  with  the 
inferior  officials  and  officers  of  a  foreign  State,  in  regard  to 
the  subjects  enumerated  in  the  preceding  article. 

ART.  ii.     No  military  capitulations  shall  be  made. 

ART.  12.  No  members  of  the  departments  of  the  federal 
government,  civil  and  military  officials  of  the  Confederation, 
or  federal  representatives  or  commissioners,  shall  receive  from 
any  foreign  government  any  pension,  salary,  title,  gift,  or 
decoration. 

Such  persons,  already  in  possession  of  pensions,  titles,  or 
decorations,  must  renounce  the  enjoyment  of  pensions  and 
the  bearing  of  titles,  and  decorations  during  their  term  of 
office. 

Nevertheless,  inferior  officials  may  be  authorized  by  the 
Federal  Council  to  continue  in  the  receipt  of  pensions. 

No  decoration  or  title  conferred  by  a  foreign  government 
shall  be  borne  in  the  federal  army. 

No  officer,  non-commissioned  officer,  or  soldier  shall  accept 
such  distinction. 

ART.  13.  The  Confederation  has  no  right  to  keep  up  a 
standing  army. 


376  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

No  Canton  or  Half-Canton  shall,  without  the  permission 
of  the  federal  government,  keep  up  a  standing  force  of  more 
than  three  hundred  men ;  the  mounted  police  [gendarmerie] 
is  not  included  in  this  number. 

ART.  14.  In  case  of  differences  arising  between  Cantons, 
the  States  shall  abstain  from  violence  and  from  arming  them- 
selves ;  they  shall  submit  to  the  decision  to  be  taken  upon 
such  differences  by  the  Confederation. 

ART.  15.  In  case  of  sudden  danger  of  foreign  attack,  the 
authorities  of  the  Cantons  threatened  shall  request  the  aid  of 
other  members  of  the  Confederation,  and  shall  immediately 
notify  the  federal  government ;  the  subsequent  action  of  the 
latter  shall  not  thereby  be  precluded.  The  Cantons  sum- 
moned are  bound  to  give  aid.  The  expenses  shall  be  borne 
by  the  Confederation. 

ART.  1 6.  In  case  of  internal  disturbance,  or  if  the  danger 
is  threatened  by  another  Canton,  the  authorities  of  the  Canton 
threatened  shall  give  immediate  notice  to  the  Federal  Council, 
in  order  that  that  body  may  take  the  measures  necessary, 
within  the  limits  of  its  power  (Art.  102,  §§  3,  10,  n),  or  may 
summon  the  Federal  Assembly.  In  extreme  cases  the  author- 
ities of  the  Canton  are  authorized,  while  giving  immediate 
notice  to  the  Federal  Council,  to  ask  the  aid  of  other  Cantons, 
which  are  bound  to  afford  such  aid. 

If  the  executive  of  the  Canton  is  unable  to  call  for  aid,  the 
federal  authority  having  the  power  may,  and  if  the  safety  of 
Switzerland  is  endangered,  shall  intervene  without  requisition. 

In  case  of  federal  intervention,  the  federal  authorities  shall 
take  care  that  the  provisions  of  Article  5  be  observed. 

The  expenses  shall  be  borne  by  the  Canton  asking  aid  or 
occasioning  federal  intervention,  except  when  the  Federal  As- 
sembly otherwise  decides  o.n  account  of  special  circumstances. 

ART.  17.  In  the  cases  mentioned  in  Articles  15  and  16, 
every  Canton  is  bound  tc  afford  undisturbed  passage  for  the 
troops.  The  troops  shall  himediately  be  placed  under  federal 
command. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.  377 

ART.  1 8.  Every  Swiss  is  bound  to  perform  military 
service. 

Soldiers  who  lose  their  lives  or  suffer  permanent  injury  to 
their  health,  in  consequence  of  federal  service,  are  entitled 
to  aid  from  the  Confederation  for  themselves  or  their  families, 
in  case  of  need. 

Each  soldier  shall  receive  without  expense  his  first  equip- 
ment, clothing,  and  arms.  The  weapon  remains  in  the  hands 
of  the  soldier,  under  conditions  which  shall  be  prescribed  by 
federal  legislation. 

The  Confederation  shall  enact  uniform  provisions  as  to  an 
exemption  tax. 

ART.  19.     The  federal  army  is  composed  : 

(a)  Of  the  cantonal  military  corps. 

(b)  Of  all  Swiss  who  do  not  belong  to  such  military  corps, 
but  are  nevertheless  liable  to  military  service. 

The  Confederation  exercises  control  over  the  army  and 
the  material  of  war  provided  by  law. 

In  cases  of  danger,  the  Confederation  has  also  the  exclu- 
sive and  direct  control  of  men  not  included  in  the  federal 
army,  and  of  all  other  military  resources  of  the  Cantons. 

The  Cantons  have  authority  over  the  military  forces  of  their 
territory,  so  far  as  this  right  is  not  limited  by  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution or  laws. 

ART.  20.  The  laws,  on  the  organization  of  the  army,  are 
passed  by  the  Confederation.  The  enforcement  of  military 
laws  in  the  Cantons  is  entrusted  to  the  cantonal  officials, 
within  limits  which  shall  be  fixed  by  federal  legislation,  and 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Confederation. 

Military  instruction  of  every  kind  pertains  to  the  Confeder- 
ation. The  same  applies  to  the  arming  of  troops. 

The  furnishing  and  maintenance  of  clothing  and  equipment 
is  within  the  power  of  the  Cantons ;  but  the  Cantons  shall  be 
credited  with  the  expenses  therefor,  according  to  a  regulation 
to  be  established  by  federal  legislation. 

ART.  21.     So  far  as  military  reasons  do  not  prevent,  bodies 


3T8  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

of  troops  shall  be  formed  out  of  the  soldiers  of  the  same 
Cantons. 

The  composition  of  these  bodies  of  troops,  the  maintenance 
of  their  effective  strength,  the  appointment  and  promotion  of 
officers  of  these  bodies  of  troops,  belong  to  the  Cantons,  sub- 
ject to  general  provisions  which  shall  be  established  by  the 
Confederation. 

ART.  22.  On  payment  of  a  reasonable  indemnity,  the  Con- 
federation has  the  right  to  use  or  acquire  drill-grounds  and 
buildings  intended  for  military  purposes,  within  the  Cantons, 
together  with  the  appurtenances  thereof. 

The  terms  of  the  indemnity  shall  be  settled  by  federal 
legislation. 

ART.  23.  The  Confederation  may  construct  at  its  own 
expense,  or  may  aid  by  subsidies,  public  works  which  concern 
Switzerland  or  a  considerable  part  of  the  country. 

For  this  purpose  it  may  expropriate  property,  on  payment  of 
a  reasonable  indemnity.  Further  enactments  upon  this  matter 
shall  be  made  by  federal  legislation. 

The  Federal  Assembly  may  forbid  public  works  which 
endanger  the  military  interests  of  the  Confederation. 

ART.  24.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  of  superintend- 
ence over  dike  and  forest  police  in  the  upper  mountain  regions. 

It  may  cooperate  in  the  straightening  and  embankment  of 
torrents  as  well  as  in  the  afforesting  of  the  districts  in  which 
they  rise.  It  may  prescribe  the  regulations  necessary  to 
assure  the  maintenance  of  these  works,  and  the  preservation  of 
existing  forests. 

ART.  25.  The  Confederation  has  power  to  make  legislative 
enactments  for  the  regulation  of  the  right  of  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing, particularly  with  a  view  to  the  preservation  of  the  large 
game  in  the  mountains,  as  well  as  for  the  protection  of  birds 
useful  to  agriculture  and  forestry. 

ART.  26.  Legislation  upon  the  construction  and  operation 
of  railroads  is  in  the  province  of  the  Confederation. 

ART.    27.     The   Confederation   has   the   right   to    establish, 


CONSTITUTION   OF  SWISS   CONFEDERATION.  371) 

besides  the  existing  Polytechnic  School,  a  Federal  University 
and  other  institutions,  of  higher  instruction  or  to  subsidize 
institutions  of  such  nature. 

The  Cantons  provide  for  primary  instruction,  which  shall  be 
sufficient,  and  shall  be  placed  exclusively  under  the  direction 
of  the  secular  authority.  It  is  compulsory  and,  in  the  public 
schools,  free. 

The  public  schfrtls  shall  be  such  that  they  may  be  fre- 
quented by  the  adherents  of  all  religious  sects,  without  any 
offence  to  their  freedom  of  conscience  or  of  belief. 

The  Confederation  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  against 
such  Cantons  as  shall  not  fulfill  these  duties. 

ART.  28.  The  customs  are  in  the  province  of  the  Confeder- 
ation. It  may  levy  expert  and  import  duties. 

ART.  29.  The  ctllectitn  of  the  federal  customs  shall  be 
regulated  according  tt  the  following  principles : 

1.  Duties  on  imports  : 

(a)  Materials  necessary  for  the  manufactures  and  agricul- 

ture of  the  country  shall  be  taxed  as  low  as  possible. 

(b)  It  shall  be  the  same  with  the  necessities  of  life. 

(c)  Luxuries  shall  be  subjected  to  the  highest  duties. 
Unless  there  are  imperative  reasons  to  the  contrary,  these 

principles  shall  be  observed  also  in  the  conclusion  of  treaties  of 
commerce  with  foreign  powers. 

2.  The  duties  tn  expirts  shall  also  be  as  low  as  possible. 

3.  The  customs  legislation   shall   include   suitable   provis- 
ions for  the  continuance  of  commercial  and  market  intercourse 
across  the  frontier. 

The  above  provisions  do  not  prevent  the  Confederation 
from  making  temporary  exceptional  provisions,  under  extraor- 
dinary circumstances. 

ART.  30.  ,  The  proceeds  of  the  customs  belong  to  the 
Confederation. 

The  indemnity  ceases  which  hitherto  has  been  paid  to  the 
Cantons  for  the  redemption  of  customs,  for  road  and  bridge 
tolls,  customs  duties  and  other  like  dues. 


380  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

By  exception,  and  on  account  of  their  international  alpine 
roads,  the  Cantons  of  Uri,  Grisons,  Ticino,  and  Valais  receive 
an  annual  indemnity,  which,  considering  all  the  circumstances, 
is  fixed  as  follows : 

Uri,  80,000  francs. 
Grisons,  200,000  francs. 
Ticino,  2oo,ooa  francs. 
Valais,  50,000  francs. 

The  Cantons  of  Uri  and  Ticino  shall  receive  in  addition,  for 
clearing  the  snow  from  the  Saint  Gotthard  road,  an  annual 
indemnity  of  40,000  francs,  so  long  as  that  road  shall  not  be 
replaced  by  a  railroad. 

ART.  31.  The  freedom  of  trade  and  of  industry  is  guaran- 
teed throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  Confederation. 

The  following  subjects  are  except ed  : 

(a)  The  salt  and  gunpowder  monopoly,  the  federal  customs, 
import  duties  on  wines  and  other  spirituous  liquors,  and  other 
taxes  on  consumption  expressly  permitted  by  the  Confedera- 
tion, according  to  Article  32. 

(b)  The  manufacture  and   sale  of  alcohol,  under  Article 
32  (ii).     [Amendment  of  Dec.  22,  1885.] 

(c)  Drinking  places,    and   the   retail    trade    in    spiritutus 
liquors ;  but  nevertheless  the  Cantons  may  by  legislation  sub- 
ject the  business  of  keeping  drinking  places,  and  the   retail 
trade  in  spirituous  liquors,  to  such  restrictions  as  are  required 
for  the  public  welfare.      [Amendment  of  Dec.  22,  1885.] 

(d)  Measures  of   sanitary  police   against  'epidemics  and 
cattle  diseases. 

(e)  Provisions  in   regard  to  the  exercise  of   trades   and 
manufactures,   in  regard  to   taxes   imposed   therein,    and   in 
regard  to  the  police  of  the  roads. 

These  provisions  shall  not  contain  anything  contrary  tt  the 
principle  of  freedom  of  trade  and  manufacture. 

ART.  32.  The  Cantons  are  authorized  to  collect  the  import 
duties  on  wines  and  other  spirituous  liquors,  provided  in  Arti- 
cle 31  (a),  always  under  the  following  restrictions: 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.  381 

(a)  The  collection  of  these  import  duties  shall  in  no  wise 
impede  transportation :  commerce  shall  be  obstructed  as  little 
as  possible  and  shall  not  be  burdened  with  any  other  dues. 

(b)  If   the  articles   imported  for  consumption    are   ree'x- 
ported  from  the  Canton,  the  duties  paid  on  importation  shall 
be  refunded,  without  further  charges. 

(c)  Products  of  Swiss  origin  shall  be  less  burdened  than 
those  of  foreign  countries. 

(d)  The  existing  import  duties  on  wines  and  other  spirit- 
uous liquors  of  Swiss  origin   shall  not  be  increased  by  the 
Cantons  which  already  levy  them.     Such  duties  shall  not  be 
established  upon  such  articles  by  Cantons  which  do   not  at 
present  collect  them. 

(e)  The  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  Cantons  on  the  collec- 
tion of  import  duties  shall,  before  their  going  into  effect,  be 
submitted  to  the  federal  government  for  approval,  in   order 
that  it  may,  if  necessary,  cause  the  enforcement  of  the  preced- 
ing provisions. 

All  the  import  duties  now  levied  by  the  Cantons,  as  well  as 
the  similar  duties  levied  by  the  Communes,  shall  cease,  with- 
out indemnity,  at  the  end  of  the  year  1890. 

ART.  32  (ii).     [Amendment  of  Dec.  22,  1885.] 

The  Confederation  is  authorized  by  legislation  to  make  reg- 
ulations for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  alcohol.  In  this  leg- 
islation those  products  which  are  intended  for  exportation,  or 
which  have  been  subjected  to  a  process  excluding  them  from 
use  as  a  beverage,  shall  be  subjected  to  no  tax.  Distillation 
of  wine,  fruit,  and  their  by-products,  of  gentian  root,  juniper 
berries,  and  similar  products,  is  not  subject  to  federal  legisla- 
tion as  to  manufacture  or  tax. 

After  the  cessation  of  the  import  duties  on  spirituous 
liquors,  provided  for  in  Article  32  of  the  Constitution,  the 
trade  in  liquors  not  distilled  shall  not  be  subjected  by  the  Can- 
tons to  any  special  taxes  or  to  other  limitations  than  those 
necessary  for  protection  against  adulterated  or  noxious  bever- 
ages. Nevertheless,  the  powers  of  the  Cantons,  defined  in 


382  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Article  31,  are  retained  over  the  keeping  of  drinking  places, 
and  the  sale  at  retail  of  quantities  less  than  two  liters. 

The  net  proceeds  resulting  from  taxation  on  the  sale  of 
alcohol  belong  to  the  Cantons  in  which  the  tax  is  levied. 

The  net  proceeds  to  the  Confederation  from  the  internal 
manufacture  of  alcohol,  and  the  corresponding  addition  to  the 
duty  on  imported  alcohol,  are  divided  among  all  the  Cantons, 
in  proportion  to  the  actual  population  as  ascertained  from 
time  to  time  by  the  next  preceding  federal  census.  Out 
of  the  receipts  therefrom  the  Cantons  must  expend  not  less 
than  one  tenth  in  combating  drunkenness  in  its  causes  and 
effects. 

ART.  33.  The  Cantons  may  require  proofs  of  competency 
from  those  who  desire  to  practice  a  liberal  profession. 

Provision  shall  be  made  by  federal  legislation  by  which 
such  persons  may  obtain  certificates  of  competency  which  shall 
be  valid  throughout  the  Confederation. 

ART.  34.  The  Confederation  has  power  to  enact  uniform 
provisions  as  to  the  labor  of  children  in  factories,  and  as  to 
the  duration  of  labor  fixed  for  adults  therein,  and  as  to  the 
protection  of  workmen  against  the  operation  of  unhealthy  and 
dangerous  manufactures. 

The  transactions  of  emigration  agents  and  of  organizations 
for  insurance,  not  instituted  by  the  State,  are  subject  to  fed- 
eral supervision  and  legislation. 

ART.  34  bis.  [Amendment  of  Oct.  26,  1890.]  The  Con- 
federation will  by  law  establish  invalid  and  accident '  insurance, 
having  regard  for  existing  invalid  funds.  It  may  declare  par- 
ticipation obligatory  for  all,  or  for  special  classes  of  the 
population. 

ART.  35.  The  opening  of  gaming  houses  is  forbidden. 
Those  which  now  exist  shall  be  closed  Dec.  31,  1877. 

The  concessions  which  may  have  been  granted  or  renewed 
since  the  beginning  of  the  year  1871  are  declared  invalid. 

The  Confederation  may  also  take  necessary  measures  con- 
cerning lotteries. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.    383 

ART.  36.  The  posts  and  telegraphs  in  all  Switzerland  are 
controlled  by  the  Confederation. 

The  proceeds  of  the  posts  and  telegraphs  belong  to  the 
federal  treasury. 

The  rates  shall,  for  all  parts  of  Switzerland,  be  fixed  accord- 
ing to  the  same  principle  and  as  fairly  as  possible. 

Inviolable  secrecy  of  letters  and  telegrams  is  guaranteed. 

ART.  37.  The  Confederation  exercises  general  oversight 
over  those  roads  and  bridges  in  the  maintenance  of  which  it  is 
interested. 

The  sums  due  to  the  Cantons  mentioned  in  Article  30, 
on  account  of  their  international  alpine  roads,  shall  be  retained 
by  the  federal  government  if  such  roads  are  not  kept  by  them 
in  suitable  condition. 

ART.  38.  The  Confederation  exercises  all  the  exclusive 
rights  pertaining  to  coinage. 

It  has  the  sole  right  of  coining  money. 

It  establishes  the  monetary  system,  and  may  enact  provis- 
ions, if  necessary,  for  the  rate  of  exchange  of  foreign  coins. 

ART.  39.  The  Confederation  has  the  power  to  make  by 
law  general  provisions  for  the  issue  and  redemption  of  bank 
notes. 

But  it  shall  not  create  any  monopoly  for  the  issue  of  bank 
notes,  nor  make  such  notes  a  legal  tender. 

ART.  40.  The  Confederation  fixes  the  standard  of  weights 
and  measures. 

The  Cantons,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Confederation, 
enforce  the  laws  relating  thereto. 

ART.  41.  The  manufacture  and  the  sale  of  gunpowder 
throughout  Switzerland  pertains  exclusively  to  the  Confedera- 
tion. 

Powders  used  for  blasting  and  not  suitable  for  shooting  are 
not  included  in  the  monopoly. 

ART.  42.  The  expendituies  of  the  Confederation  are  met 
as  follows : 

(a)  Out  of  the  income  from  federal  property. 


384          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

(b)  Out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  federal  customs  levied  at 
the  Swiss  frontier. 

(c)  Out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  posts  and  telegraphs. 

(d)  Out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  powder  monopoly. 

(e)  Out  of  half  of  the  gross  receipts  from  the  tax  on  mili- 
tary exemptions  levied  by  the  Cantons. 

(/)  Out  of  the  Contributions  of  the  Cantons,  which  shall 
be  determined  by  federal  legislation,  with  special  reference  to 
their  wealth  and  taxable  resources. 

ART.  43.     Every  citizen  of  a  Canton  is  a  Swiss  citizen. 

As  such  he  may  participate,  in  the  place  where  he  is  domi- 
ciled, in  all  federal  elections  and  popular  votes,  after  having 
duly  proven  his  qualification  as  a  voter. 

No  person  can  exercise  political  rights  in  more  than  one 
Canton. 

The  Swiss  settled  as  a  citizen  outside  his  native  Canton 
enjoys,  in  the  place  where  he  is  domiciled,  all  the  rights  of 
the  citizens  of  the  Canton,  including  all  the  rights  of  the  com- 
munal citizen.  Participation  in  municipal  and  corporate  prop- 
erty, and  the  right  to  vote  upon  purely  municipal  affairs,  are 
excepted  from  such  rights,  unless  the  Canton  by  legislation 
has  otherwise  provided. 

In  cantonal  and  communal  affairs,  he  gains  the  right  to 
vote  after  a  residence  of  three  months. 

Cantonal  laws  relating  to  the  right  of  Swiss  citizens  to  set- 
tle outside  the  Cantons  in  which  they  were  born,  and  to  vote 
on  communal  questions,  are  submitted  for  the  approval  of  the 
Federal  Council. 

ART.  44.  No  Canton  shall  expel  from  its  territory  one  of 
its  own  citizens,  nor  deprive  him  of  his  rights,  whether  acquired 
by  birth  or  settlement.  \Origine  ou  «//.] 

Federal  legislation  shall  fix  the  conditions  upon  which  for- 
eigners may  be  naturalized,  as  well  as  those  upon  which  a 
Swiss  may  give  up  his  citizenship  in  order  to  obtain  naturaliz- 
ation in  a  foreign  country. 

ART.  45.     Every  Swiss  citizen  has  the  right  to  settle  any- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.   385 

where  in  Swiss  territory,  on  condition  of  submitting  a  certifi- 
cate of  origin,  or  a  similar  document. 

By  exception,  settlement  may  be  refused  to  or  withdrawn 
from,  those  who,  in  consequence  of  a  penal  conviction,  are  not 
entitled  to  civil  rights. 

In  addition,  settlement  may  be  withdrawn  from  those  who 
have  been  repeatedly  punished  for  serious  offenses,  and  also 
from  those  who  permanently  come  upon  the  charge  of  public 
charity,  and  to  whom  their  Commune  or  Canton  of  origin,  as 
the  case  may  be,  refuses  sufficient  succor,  after  they  have  been 
officially  asked  to  grant  it. 

In  the  Cantons  where  the  poor  are  relieved  in  their  place 
of  residence  the  permission  to  settle,  if  it  relates  to  citizens  of 
the  Canton,  may  be  coupled  with  the  condition  that  they  shall 
be  able  to  work,  and  that  they  shall  not,  in  their  former  domi- 
cile in  the  Canton  of  origin,  have  permanently  become  a  charge 
on  public  charity. 

Every  expulsion  on  account  of  poverty  must  be  approved  by 
the  government  of  the  Canton  of  domicile,  and  previously 
announced  to  the  government  of  the  Canton  of  origin. 

A  Canton  in  which  a  Swiss  establishes  his  domicile  may 
not  require  security,  nor  impose  any  special  obligations  for 
such  establishment.  In  like  manner,  the  Communes  cannot 
require  from  Swiss  domiciled  in  their  territory  other  contribu- 
tions than  those  which  they  require  from  their  own  subjects. 

A  federal  law  shall  establish  the  maximum  fee  to  be  paid 
the  Chancery  for  a  permit  to  settle. 

ART.  46.  Persons  settled  in  Switzerland  are,  as  a  rule,  sub- 
jected to  -the  jurisdiction  and  legislation  of  their  domicile,  in 
all  that  pertains  to  their  personal  status  and  property  rights. 

The  Confederation  shall  by  law  make  the  provisions  neces- 
sary for  the  application  of  this  principle  and  for  the  prevention 
of  double  taxation  of  a  citizen. 

ART.  47.  A  federal  law  shall  establish  the  distinction 
between  settlement  and  temporary  residence,  and  shall  at  the 
same  time  make  the  regulations  to  which  Swiss  temporary  resi- 


j 


386  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

dents  shall  be  subjected  as  to  their  political  rights  and  their 
civil  rights. 

ART.  48.  A  federal  law  shall  provide  for  the  regulation  of 
the  expenses  of  the  illness  and  burial  of  indigent  persons  amen- 
able to  one  Canton,  who  have  fallen  ill  or  died  in  another 
Canton. 

ART.  49.     Freedom  of  conscience  and  belief  is  inviolable. 

No  person  can  be  constrained  to  take  part  in  a  religious 
society,  to  attend  religious  instruction,  to  perform  a  religious 
rite,  or  to  incur  penalties  of  any  kind  whatever  on  account  of 
religious  opinion. 

The  person  who  exercises  the  parent's  or  guardian's  author- 
ity has  the  right,  conformably  to  the  principles  above  stated, 
to  regulate  the  religious  education  of  children  up  to  the  age  of 
sixteen  completed  years. 

The  exercise  of  civil  or  political  rights  shall  not  be  abridged 
by  any  provisions  or  conditions  whatever  of  an  ecclesiastical  or 
religious  kind. 

No  person  shall,  on  account  of  a  religious  belief,  release 
himself  from  the  accomplishment  of  a  civil  duty. 

No  person  is  bound  to  pay  taxes  of  which  the  proceeds  are 
specially  appropriated  to  the  actual  expenses  of  the  worship 
of  a  religious  body  to  which  he  does  not  belong.  The  details 
of  the  carrying  out  of  this  principle  are  reserved  for  federal 
legislation. 

ART.  50.  The  free  exercise  of  religious  worship  is  guaran- 
teed within  the  limits  compatible  with  public  order  and  good 
morals. 

The  Cantons  and  the  Confederation  may  take  suitable 
measures  for  the  preservation  of  public  order  and  of  peace 
between  the  members  of  different  religious  bodies,  and  also 
against  encroachments  of  ecclesiastical  authorities  upon  the 
rights  of  citizens  and  of  the  State. 

Contests  in  public  and  private  law,  which  arise  out  of  the 
formation  or  the  division  of  religious  bodies,  may  be  brought 
by  appeal  before  the  competent  federal  authorities. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.   28Z 

No  bishopric  shall  be  created  upon  Swiss  territory  without 
the  consent  of  the  Confederation. 

ART.  51.  The  order  of  the  Jesuits,  and  the  societies  affili- 
ated with  them,  shall  not  be  received  into  any  part  of  Switzer- 
land ;  and  all  action  in  church  and  school  is  forbidden  to  its- 
members. 

This  prohibition  may  be  extended  also,  by  federal  ordinance,, 
to  other  religious  orders,  the  action  of  which  is  dangerous  to 
the  state  or  disturbs  the  peace  between  sects. 

ART.  52.  The  foundation  of  new  convents  or  religious 
orders,  and  the  re-establishment  of  those  which  have  been  sup- 
pressed, are  forbidden. 

ART.  53.  The  civil  status  and  the  keeping  of  records 
thereof  is  subject  to  the  civil  authority.  The  Confederation 
shall  by  law  enact  detailed  provisions  upon  this  subject. 

The  control  of  places  of  burial  is  subject  to  the  civil  author- 
ity. It  shall  take  care  that  every  deceased  person  may  be 
decently  interred. 

ART.  54.  The  right  of  marriage  is  placed  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Confederation. 

No  limitation  upon  marriage  shall  be  based  upon  sectarian 
grounds,  nor  upon  the  poverty  of  either  of  the  contractants,  nor 
on  their  conduct,  nor  on  any  other  consideration  of  good  order. 

A  marriage  contracted  in  a  Canton  or  in  a  foreign  country, 
conformably  to  the  law  which  is  there  in  force,  shall  be  recog- 
nized as  valid  throughout  the  Confederation. 

By  marriage  the  wife  acquires  the  citizenship  of  her 
husband. 

Children  born  before  the  marriage  are  made  legitimate  by 
the  subsequent  marriage  of  their  parents. 

No  tax  upon  admission  or  similar  tax  shall  be  levied  upon 
either  party  to  a  marriage. 

ART.   55.     The  freedom  of  the  press  is  guaranteed. 

Nevertheless  the  Cantons  by  law  enact  the  measures  neces- 
sary for  the  suppression  of  abuses.  Such  laws  are  submitted 
for  the  approval  of  the  Federal  Council. 


388  1HE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

The  Confederation  may  enact  penalties  for  the  suppression 
of  press  offenses  directed  against  it  or  its  authorities. 

ART.  56.  Citizens  have  the  right  of  forming  associations, 
provided  that  there  be  in  the  purpose  of  such  associations,  or 
in  the  means  which  they  employ,  nothing  unlawful  or  danger- 
ous to  the  state.  The  Cantons  by  law  take  the  measures 
necessary  for  the  suppression  of  abuses. 

ART.   57.     The  right  of  petition  is  guaranteed. 

ART.  58.  No  person  shall  be  deprived  of  his  constitu- 
tional judge.  Therefore  no  extraordinary  tribunal  shall  be 
established. 

Ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  is  abolished. 

ART.  59.  Suits  for  personal  claims  against  a  solvent 
debtor  having  a  domicile  in  Switzerland,  must  be  brought 
before  the  judge  of  his  domicile;  in  consequence,  his  property 
outside  the  Canton  in  which  he  is  domiciled  may  not  be 
attached  in  suits  for  personal  claims. 

Nevertheless,  with  reference  to  foreigners,  the  provisions  of 
international  treaties  shall  not  thereby  be  affected. 

Imprisonment  for  debt  is  abolished. 

ART.  60.  All  the  Cantons  are  bound  to  treat  the  citizens  of 
the  other  confederated  States  like  those  of  their  own  State  in 
legislation  and  in  all  judicial  proceedings. 

ART.  6 1.  Civil  judgments  definitely  pronounced  in  any 
Canton  may  be  executed  anywhere  in  Switzerland. 

ART.  62.  The  exit  duty  on  property  \traite  foraine\  is 
abolished  in  the  interior  of  Switzerland,  as  well  as  the  right  of 
redemption  \droit  de  retraif]  by  citizens  of  one  Canton  against 
those  of  other  confederated  States. 

ART.  63.  The  exit  duty  .on  property  is  abolished  as 
respects  foreign  countries,  provided  reciprocity  be  observed. 

ART.  64.     The  Confederation  has  power  to  make  laws : 

On  legal  competency. 

On  all  legal  questions  relating  to  commerce  and  to  trans- 
actions affecting  chattels  (law  of  commercial  obligations, 
including  commercial  law  and  law  of  exchange). 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.  389 

On  literary  and  artistic  copyright. 

On  the  protection  of  new  patterns  and  forms,  and  of  inven- 
tions which  are  represented  in  models  and  are  capable  of 
industrial  application.  [Amendment  of  Dec.  20,  1887.] 

On  the  legal  collection  of  debts  and  on  bankruptcy. 

The  administration  of  justice  remains  with  the  Cantons,  save 
as  affected  by  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Court. 

ART.  65.  No  death  penalty  shall  be  pronounced  for  a  polit- 
ical crime.  [Amendment  of  May  i8th,  1879.] 

Corporal  punishment  is  abolished. 

ART.  66.  The  Confederation  by  law  fixes  the  limits  within 
which  a  Swiss  citizen  may  be  deprived  of  his  political  rights. 

ART.  67.  The  Confederation  by  law  provides  for  the  extra- 
dition of  accused  persons  from  one  Canton  to  another;  never- 
theless, extradition  shall  not  be  made  obligatory  for  political 
offenses  and  offenses  of  the  press.  , 

ART.  68.  Measures  are  taken  by  federal  law  for  the  incor- 
poration of  persons  without  country  (Heimathlosen),  and  for 
the  prevention  of  new  cases  of  that  nature. 

ART.  69.  Legislation  concerning  measures  of  sanitary  police 
against  epidemic  and  cattle  diseases,  causing  a  common  danger, 
is  included  in  the  powers  of  the  Confederation. 

ART.  70.  The  Confederation  has  power  to  expel  from  its 
territory  foreigners  who  endanger  the  internal  or  external 
safety  of  Switzerland. 


CHAPTER  II.     FEDERAL  AUTHORITIES. 
I.       FEDERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

\Assemblfa  ftdtrale  ;  Bundesversammlung.  ] 

ART.  71.     With  the  reservation  of  the  rights  of  the  people 
and  of  the  Cantons  (Articles  89  and  121),  the  supreme  author- 


390  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

ity  of  the  Confederation  is  exercised  by  the  Federal  Assembly 
which  consists  of  two  sections  or  councils,  to  wit : 

(A)  The  National  Council. 

(B)  The  Council  of  States. 

A.       NATIONAL    COUNCIL. 

[  Conseil  National ;    Nationalrath.  ] 

ART.  72.  The  National  Council  is  composed  of  representa- 
tives of  the  Swiss  people,  chosen  in  the  ratio  of  one  member 
for  each  20^000  persons  of  the  total  population.  Fractions  of 
upwards  of  10,000  persons  are  reckoned  as  20,000. 

Every  Canton,  and  in  the  divided  Cantons  every  Half- 
Canton,  chooses  at  least  one  representative. 

ART.  73.  The  elections  for  the  National  Council  are  direct. 
They  are  held  in  federal  electoral  districts,  which  in  no  case 
shall  be  formed  out  of  parts  of  different  Cantons. 

ART.  74.  Every  Swiss  who  has  completed  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  who  in  addition  is  not  excluded  from  the  rights  of  a 
voter  by  the  legislation  of  the  Canton  in  which  he  is  domiciled, 
has  the  right  to  vote  in  elections  and  popular  votes. 

Nevertheless,  the  Confederation  by  law  may  establish  uni- 
form regulations  for  the  exercise  of  such  right. 

ART.  75.  Every  lay  Swiss  citizen  who  has  the  right  to  vote 
is  eligible  for  membership  in  the  National  Council. 

ART.  76.  The  National  Council  is  chosen  for  three  years, 
and  entirely  renewed  at  each  general  election. 

ART.  77.  Representatives  to  the  Council  of  States,  mem- 
bers of  the  Federal  Council,  and  officials  appointed  by  that 
Council,  shall  not  at  the  same  time  be  members  of  the  National 
Council. 

ART.  78.  The  National  Council  chooses  out  of  its  own 
number,  for  each  regular  or  extraordinary  session,  a  President 
and  a  Vice-President. 

A  member  who  has  held  the  office  of   President  during  a 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.   391 

regular  session  is  ineligible  either  as  President  or  as  Vice- 
President  at  the  next  regular  session. 

The  same  member  may  not  be  Vice-President  during  two 
consecutive  regular  sessions. 

When  the  votes  are  equally  divided  the  President  has  a 
casting  vote ;  in  elections  he  votes  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
members. 

ART.  79.  The  members  of  the  National  Council  receive  a 
compensation  out  of  the  federal  treasury. 

B.       COUNCIL    OF    STATES. 

\Conseil  des  Etats  ;  StdnderathJ\ 

ART.  80.  The  Council  of  States  consists  of  forty-four  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Cantons.  Each  Canton  appoints  two  rep- 
resentatives ;  in  the  divided  Cantons,  each  Half-Canton  chooses 
one. 

ART.  81.  The  members  of  the  National  Council  and  those 
of  the  Federal  Council  may  not  be  representatives  in  the 
Council  of  States. 

ART.  82.  The  Council  of  States  chooses  out  of  its  own 
number  for  each  regular  or  extraordinary  session  a  President 
and  a  Vice-President. 

Neither  the  President  nor  the  Vice-President  can  be  chosen 
from  among  the  representatives  of  the  Canton  from  which  the 
President  has  been  chosen  for  the  regular  session  next 
preceding. 

Representatives  of  the  same  Canton  cannot  occupy  the  posi- 
tion of  Vice-President  during  two  consecutive  regular  sessions. 

When  the  votes  are  equally  divided  the  President  has  a 
casting  vote;  in  elections  he  votes  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
other  members. 

ART.  83.  Representatives  in  the  Council  of  States  receive 
a  compensation  from  the  Cantons. 


392          THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

C.       POWERS    OF    THE    FEDERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

ART.  84.  The  National  Council  and  the  Council  of  States 
consider  all  the  subjects  which  the  present  Constitution  places 
within  the  competence  of  the  Confederation,  and  which  are 
not  assigned  to  any  other  federal  authority. 

ART.  85.  The  subjects  within  the  competence  of  the  two 
Councils  are  particularly  the  following  : 

1.  Laws  on  the  organization  of  and  election  of  federal" 
authorities. 

2.  Laws  and  ordinances  on  subjects  which  by  the  Con- 
stitution are  placed  within  the  federal  competence. 

3.  The  salary  and  compensation  of  members  of  the  fed- 
eral  governing   bodies    and    of    the    Federal    Chancery;    the 
creation  of  federal   offices  and  the  determination  of  salaries 
therefor. 

4.  The  election  of  the  Federal  Council,  of  the  Federal 
Court,  and  of  the  Chancellor,  and  also  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  federal  army. 

The  Confederation  may  by  law  assign  to  the  Federal 
Assembly  other  powers  of  election  or  of  confirmation. 

5.  Alliances  and  treaties  with  foreign  powers,  and  also 
the  approval  of  treaties  made  by  the  Cantons  between  them- 
selves or  with  foreign  powers ;  nevertheless  the  treaties  made 
by  the  Cantons  shall  be  brought  before  the  Federal  Assembly 
only  in  case  the  Federal  Council  or  another  Canton  protests. 

6.  Measures  for  external  safety  and  also  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  independence  and  neutrality  of  Switzerland ;  the 
declaration  of  war  and  the  conclusion  of  peace. 

7.  The  guaranty  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  territory 
of  the   Cantons;  intervention   in   consequence  of  such  guar- 
anty ;  measures  for  the  internal  safety  of  Switzerland,  for  the 
maintenance  of  peace  and  order ;  amnesty  and  pardon. 

8.  Measures  for  the  preservation   of   tl)J  Constitution, 
for  carrying  out  the  guaranty  of  the  cantonal   constitutions, 
and  for  fulfilling  federal  obligations. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.   393 

9.  The  power  of  controlling  the  federal  army. 

10.  The  determination  of  the  annual  budget,  the  audit 
of  public  accounts,  and  federal  ordinances  authorizing  loans. 

11.  The  superintendence  of  federal  administration   and 
of  federal  courts. 

12.  Protests  against  the  decisions  of  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil upon  administrative  conflicts.     (ART.   113.) 

13.  Conflicts  of  jurisdiction  between  federal  authorities. 

14.  The  amendment  of  the  federal  Constitution. 

ART.  86.  The  two  Councils  assemble  annually  in  regular 
session  upon  a  day  to  be  fixed  by  the  standing  orders. 

They  are  convened  in  extra  session  by  the  Federal  Council 
upon  the  request  either  of  one  fourth  of  the  members  of  the 
National  Council,  or  of  five  Cantons. 

ART.  87.  In  either  Council  a  quorum  is  a  majority  of  the 
to*tal  number  of  its  members. 

ART.  88.  In  the  National  Council  and  in  the  Council  of 
States  a  majority  of  those  voting  is  required. 

ART.  89.  Federal  laws,  enactments,  and  resolutions  shall 
be  passed  only  by  the  agreement  of  the  two  Councils. 

Federal  laws  shall  be  submitted  for  acceptance  or  rejection 
by  the  peeple,  if  the  demand  is  made  by  3®,®®©  voters  or  by 
eight  Cantons.  The  same  principle  applies  to  federal  resolu- 
tions which  have  a  general  application,  and  which  are  not  of 
an  urgent  nature. 

ART.  90.  -The  Confederation  shall  by  law  establish  the 
forms  and  intervals  to  be  observed  in  popular  votes. 

ART.  91.  Members  of  either  Council  vote  without  in- 
structions. 

ART.  92.  Each  Council  takes  action  separately.  But  in 
the  case  of  the  elections  specified,  in  Article  85,  §  4,  of  par- 
dons, or  of  deciding  a  conflict  of  jurisdiction  (Art.  85,  §  13), 
the  two  Councils  meet  in  joint  session,  under  the  direction  of 
the  President  of  the  National  Council,  and  a  decision  is  made 
by  the  majority  of  the  members  of  both  Councils  present  and 
voting. 


THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 


ART.  93.  Measures  may  originate  in  either  Council,  and 
may  be  introduced  by  any  of  their  members. 

The  Cantons  may  by  correspondence  exercise  the  same 
right. 

ART.  94.     As  a  rule,  the  sittings  of  the  Councils  are  public. 

II.    FEDERAL     COUNCIL. 

\Conseilftdtral;  Bundesrath.} 

ART.  95.  The  supreme  direction  and  executive  authority 
of  the  Confederation  is  exercised  by  a  Federal  Council,  com- 
posed of  seven  members. 

ART.  96.  The  members  of  the  Federal  Council  are  chosen 
for  three  years  by  the  Councils  in  joint  session  from  among  all 
the  Swiss  citizens  eligible  to  the  National  Council.  But  n^t 
more  than  one  member  of  the  Federal  Council  shall  be  chtsen 
from  the  same  Canton. 

The  Federal  Council  is  chosen  anew  after  each  election  of 
the  National  Council. 

Vacancies  which  occur  in  the  course  of  the  three  years  are 
filled  at  the  first  ensuing  session  of  the  Federal  Assembly,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  term  of  office. 

ART.  97.  The  members  of  the  Federal  Council  shall  n«t, 
during  their  term  of  office,  occupy  any  other  office,  either  in 
the  service  of  the  Confederation  or  in  a  Canttn,  *r  follow  any 
other  pursuit,  or  exercise  a  profession. 

ART.  98.  The  Federal  Council  is  presided  over  by  the 
President  of  the  Confederation.  There  is  a  Vice-President. 

The  President  of  the  Confederation  and  the  Vice-President 
of  the  Federal  Council  are  chosen  for  one  year  by  the  Federal 
Assembly  from  among  the  members  of  the  Council. 

The  retiring  President  shall  not  be  chosen  as  President  or 
Vice-President  for  the  year  ensuing. 

The  same  member  shall  not  hold  the  office  of  Vice-Presi- 
dent during  two  consecutive  years. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.   395 

ART.  99.  The  President  of  the  Confederation  and  the 
other  members  of  the  Federal  Council  receive  an  annual  salary 
from  the  federal  treasury. 

ART.  100.  A  quorum  of  the  Federal  Council  consists  of 
four  members. 

ART.  1 01.  The  members  of  the  Federal  Council  have  the 
right  to  speak  but  not  to  vote  in  either  house  of  the  Federal 
Assembly,  and  also  the  right  to  make  motions  on  the  subject 
under  consideration. 

ART.  192.  The  powers  and  the  duties  of  the  Federal 
Council,  within  the  limits  of  this  Constitution,  are  particularly 
the  following : 

1.  It  conducts  federal  affairs,  conformably  to  the  laws 
and  resolutions  of  the  Confederation. 

2.  It  takes  care  that  the  Constitution,  federal  laws  and 
ordinances,  and  also  the  provisions  of  federal  concordats,  be 
observed ;  upon  its  own  initiative  or  upon  complaint,  it  takes 
measures  necessary  to  cause  these  instruments  to  be  observed, 
unless  the   consideration  of   redress  be  among  the   subjects 
which  should  be  brought  before  the  Federal  Court,  according 
to  Article  113. 

3.  It  takes  care  that  the  guaranty  of  the  cantonal  consti- 
tutions be  observed. 

4.  It   introduces   bills   or  resolutions    into    the    Federal 
Assembly,  and  gives  its  opinion  upon  the  proposals  submitted 
to  it  by  the  Councils  or  the  Cantons. 

5.  It  executes  the  laws  and  resolutions  of  the  Confeder- 
ation and  the  judgments  of  the  Federal  Court,  and  also  the 
compromises    or     decisions     in     arbitration     upon     disputes 
between  Cantons. 

6.  It  makes  those  appointments  which  are  not  assigned 
to  the  Federal  Assembly,  Federal  Court,  or  other  authority. 

7.  It  examines  the  treaties  made  by  Cantons  with  each 
other,  or  with  foreign  powers,  and  approves  them,  if  proper. 
(Art.  85,  §  5.) 

8.  It  watches  over  the  external  interests  of  the  Confed- 


396  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

eration,    particularly    the    maintenance    of    its    international 
relations,  and  is,  in  general,  intrusted  with  foreign  relations. 

9.  It  watches  over  the  external   safety  of    Switzerland, 
over  the  maintenance  of  independence  and  neutrality. 

10.  It  watches  over  the  internal  safety  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, over  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  order. 

11.  In  cases  of   urgency,"  and  when   the    Federal   As- 
sembly is  not  in  session,  the  Federal  Council  has  power   to 
raise  the  necessary  troops  and  to  employ  them,  with  the  reser- 
vation that  it  shall  immediately  summon  the  Councils  if  the 
number  of  troops  exceed  two  thousand  men,  or  if  they  remain 
in  arms  more  than  three  weeks. 

12.  It  administers  the  military  establishment  of  the  Con- 
federation, and  all  other  branches  of  administration  committed 
to  the  Confederation. 

13.  It  examines  such  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  Cantons 
as  must  be  submitted  for  its  approval ;  it  exercises  supervision 
over  such  departments  of  the  cantonal  administration  as  are 
placed  under  its  control. 

14.  It  administers  the  finances    of   the    Confederation, 
introduces  the  budget,  and  submits  accounts  of  receipts  and 
expenses. 

15.  It  supervises  the  conduct  of   all   the  officials   and 
employees  of  the  federal  administration. 

1 6.  It  submits  to  the  Federal  Assembly  at  each  regular 
session  an  account  of  its  administration  and  a  report  of  the 
condition  of  the  Confederation,  internal  as  well  as   external, 
and  calls  attention  to  the  measures  which  it  deems  desirable 
for  the  promotion  of  the  general  welfare. 

It  also  makes  special  reports  when  the  Federal  Assembly  or 
either  Council  requires  it. 

ART.  103.  The  business  of  the  Federal  Council  is  distribu- 
ted by  departments  among  its  members.  This  distribution  has 
the  purpose  only  of  facilitating  the  examination  and  despatch 
of  business  ;  decisions  emanate  from  the  Federal  Council  as  a 
single  authority. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.    397 

ART.  104.  The  Federal  Council  and  its  departments  have 
power  to  call  in  experts  on  special  subjects. 

III.       FEDERAL    CHANCERY. 

[  Chancellerie  federate  ;  Bundeskanzlei.  ] 

ART.  105.  A  Federal  Chancery,  at  the  head  of  which  is 
placed  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation,  conducts  the  secre- 
tary's business  for  the  Federal  Assembly  and  the  Federal 
Council. 

The  Chancellor  is  chosen  by  the  Federal  Assembly  for  the 
term  of  three  years,  at  the  same  time  as  the  Federal  Council. 

The  Chancery  is  under  the  special  supervision  of  the  Fed- 
eral Council. 

A  federal  law  shall  provide  for  the  organization  of  the 
Chancery. 

IV.   FEDERAL  COURT. 

[  Tribunal  federal ;  Bundesgericht.  ] 

ART.  1 06.  There  shall  be  a  Federal  Court  for  the  admin- 
istration of  justice  in  federal  concerns. 

There  shall  be,  moreover,  a  jury  for  criminal  cases.     (Art. 

112.) 

ART.  107.  The  members  and  alternates  of  the  Federal 
Court  shall  be  chosen  by  the  Federal  Assembly,  which  shall 
take  care  that  all  three  national  languages  are  represented 
therein. 

A  law  shall  establish  the  organization  of  the  Federal  Court 
and  of  its  sections,  the  number  of  judges  and  alternates,  their 
term  of  office,  and  their  salary. 

ART.  1 08.  Any  Swiss  citizen  eligible  to  National  Council 
may  be  chosen  to  the  Federal  Court. 

The  members  of  the  Federal  Assembly  and  of  the  Federal 


398  THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Council,  and  officials  appointed  by  those  authorities,  shall  not 
at  the  same  time  belong  to  the  Federal  Court. 

The  members  of  the  Federal  Court  shall  not,  during  their 
term  of  office,  occupy  any  other  office,  either  in  the  service  of 
the  Confederation  or  in  a  Canton,  nor  engage  in  any  other  pur- 
suit, nor  practice  a  profession. 

ART.  109.  The  Federal  Court  organizes  its  own  Chancery 
and  appoints  the  officials  thereof. 

ART.    1 10.    The  Federal  Court  has  jurisdiction  in  civil  suits  : 

1.  Between  the  Confederation  and  the  Cantons. 

2.  Between  the  Confederation  on  one  part  and  corpora- 
tions or  individuals  on  the  other  part,  when  such  corporations 
or  individuals  are  plaintiffs,  and  when  the  amount  involved  is 
of    a    degree    of    importance    to    be    determined    by    federal 
legislation. 

3.  Between  Cantons. 

4.  Between   Cantons   on   one  part  and   corporations  or 
individuals  on  the  other  part,  when  one  of  the  parties  demands 
it,  and  the  amount  involved  is  of  a  degree  of  importance  to  be 
determined  by  federal  legislation. 

It  further  has  jurisdiction  in  suits  concerning  the  status  of 
persons  not  subjects  of  any  government  (heimathlosat),  and 
the  conflicts  which  arise  between  Communes  of  different  Can- 
tons respecting  the  right  of  local  citzenship.  \Droit  de  cite.~\ 

ART.  1 1 1.  The  Federal  Court  is  bound  to  give  judgment 
in  other  cases  when  both  parties  agree  to  abide  by  its  decision, 
and  when  the  amount  involved  is  of  a  degree  of  importance  to 
be  determined  by  federal  legislation. 

ART.  112.  The  Federal  Court,  assisted  by  a  jury  to  decide 
upon  questions  of  fact,  has  criminal  jurisdiction  in: 

1.  Cases  of  high  treason  against  the  Confederation,  of 
rebellion  or  violence  against  federal  authorities. 

2.  Crimes  and  misdemeanors  against  the  law  of  nations. 

3.  Political    crimes    and    misdemeanors   which    are    the 
cause  or  the  result  of  disturbances  which  occasion  armed  fed- 
eral intervention. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.   399 

4.     Cases  against  officials  appointed  by  a  federal  author- 
ity, where  such  authority  relegates  them  to  the  Federal  Court. 
ART.    1 13.     The  Federal  Court  further  has  jurisdiction  : 

1.  Over  conflicts  of  jurisdiction  between  federal  author- 
ities on  one  part  and  cantonal  authorities  on  the  other  part. 

2.  Disputes  between  Cantons,  when  such   disputes  are 
upon  questions  of  public  law. 

3.  Complaints  of  violation  of  the  constitutional  rights  of 
citizens,  and  complaints  of  individuals  for  the  violation  of  con- 
cordats or  treaties. 

Conflicts  of  administrative  jurisdiction  are  reserved,  and  are 
to  be  settled  in  a  manner  prescribed  by  federal  legislation. 

In  all  the  fore-mentioned  cases  the  Federal  Court  shall 
apply  the  laws  passed  by  the  Federal  Assembly  and  those  reso- 
lutions of  the  Assembly  which  have  a  general  import.  It  shall 
in  like  manner  conform  to  treaties  which  shall  have  been  rati- 
fied by  the  Federal  Assembly. 

ART.  114.  Besides  the  cases  specified  in  Articles  no,  112, 
and  113,  the  Confederation  may  by  law  place  other  matters 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Federal  Court;  in  particular,  it 
may  give  to  that  court  powers  intended  to  insure  the  uniform 
application  of  the  laws  provided  for  in  Article  64. 

V.       MISCELLANEOUS    PROVISIONS. 

ART.  115.  All  that  relates  to  the  location  of  the  authori- 
ties of  the  Confederation  is  a  subject  for  federal  legislation. 

ART.  1 1 6.  The  three  principal  languages  spoken  in  Swit- 
zerland, German,  French,  and  Italian,  are  national  languages  of 
the  Confederation. 

ART.  117.  The  officials  of  the  Confederation  are  respon- 
sible for  their  conduct  in  office.  A  federal  law  shall  enforce 
this  responsibility. 


400  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

CHAPTER  III.     AMENDMENT  OF  THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 

ART.  1 1 8.  The  Federal  Constitution  may  at  any  time  be 
wholly  or  partially  amended. 

ART.  119.  Complete  Amendment  is  secured  through  the 
forms  required  for  passing  federal  laws. 

ART.  1 20.  When  either  Council  of  the  Federal  Assembly 
passes  a  resolution  for  the  complete  amendment  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  and  the  other  Council  does  not  agree;  or  when 
fifty  thousand  Swiss  voters  demand'  the  complete  amendment, 
the  question  whether  the  Federal  Constitution  ought  to  be 
amended  is,  in  either  case,  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  Swiss 
people,  voting  yes  or  no. 

If  in  either  case  the  majority  of  the  Swiss  citizens  who  vote 
pronounce  in  the  affirmative,  there  shall  be  a  new  election  of 
both  Councils  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  the  complete 
amendment. 

ART.   121.     [Amendment   of  July /th,  1891.] 

Partial  amendment  may  take  place  through  the  forms  of 
Popular  Initiative,  or  of  those  required  for  passing  federal  laws. 

The  Popular  Initiative  may  be  used  when  fifty  thousand 
Swiss  voters  present  a  petition  for  the  enactment,  the  abolition 
or  the  alteration  of  certain  articles  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

When  several  different  subjects  are  proposed  for  amendment 
or  for  enactment  in  the  Federal  Constitution  by  means  of  the 
Popular  Initiative,  each  must  form  the  subject  of  a  special 
petition. 

Petitions  may  be  presented  in  the  form  of  general  suggest* 
ions  or  of  finished  bills.  When  a  petition  is  presented  in  the 
form  of  a  general  suggestion,  and  the  Federal  Assembly  agrees 
thereto,  it  is  the  duty  of  that  body  to  elaborate  a  partial 
amendment  in  the  sense  of  the  Initiators,  and  to  refer  it  to  the 
people  and  the  Cantons  for  acceptance  or  rejection.  If  the 
Federal  Assembly  does  not  agree  to  the  petition,  then  the 
question  of  whether  there  shall  be  a  partial  amendment  at  all 
must  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people,  and  if  the  major- 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.  401 

ity  of  Swiss  voters  express  themselves  in  the  affirmative,  the 
amendment  must  be  taken  in  hand  by  the  Federal  Assembly 
in  the  sense  of  the  people. 

When  a  petition  is  presented  in  the  form  of  a  finished  bill, 
and  the  Federal  Assembly  agrees  thereto,  the  bill  must  be 
referred  to  the  people  and  the  Cantons  for  acceptance  or 
rejection.  In  case  the  Federal  Assembly  does  not  agree,  that 
body  can  elaborate  a  bill  of  its  own,  or  move  to  reject  the 
petition,  and  submit  its  own  bill  or  motion  of  rejection  to  the 
vote  of  the  people  and  the  Cantons  along  with  the  petition. 

ART.  122.  A  Federal  law  shall  determine  more  precisely 
the  manner  of  procedure  in  popular  petitions  and  in  voting  for 
amendments  to  the  Constitution. 

ART.  123.  The  amended  Federal  Constitution,  or  the 
amended  part  thereof,  shall  be  in  force  when  it  has  been 
adopted  by  the  majority  of  Swiss  citizens  who  take  part  in  the 
vote  thereon  and  by  a  majority  of  the  States. 

In  making  up  a  majority  of  the  States  the  vote  of  a  Half- 
Canton  is  counted  as  half  a  vote. 

The  result  of  the  popular  vote  in  each  Canton  is  considered 
to  be  the  vote  of  the  State. 

TEMPORARY  PROVISIONS. 

ARTICLE  i.  The  proceeds  of  the  posts  and  customs  shall 
be  divided  upon  the  present  basis,  until  such  time  as  the  Con- 
federation shall  take  upon  itself  the  military  expenses  up  to 
this  time  borne  by  the  Cantons. 

Federal  legislation  shall  provide,  besides,  that  the  loss  which 
may  be  occasioned  to  the  finances  of  certain  Cantons  by  the 
sum  of  the  charges  which  result  from  Articles  20,  30,  36  (§  2) 
and  42  (e)y  shall  fall  upon  such  Cantons  only  gradually,  and 
shall  not  attain  its  full  effect  till  after  a  transition  period  of 
some  years. 

Those  Cantons  which,  at  the  going  into  effect  of  Article 
20  of  the  Constitution,  have  not  fulfilled  the  military  obliga- 


402  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

tions  which  are  imposed  upon  them  by  the  former  Constitu- 
tion, or  by  federal  laws,  shall  be  bound  to  carry  them  out  at 
their  own  expense. 

ART.  2.  The  provisions  of  the  federal  laws  and  of  the 
cantonal  concordats,  constitutions  or  cantonal  laws,  which  are 
contrary  to  this  Constitution,  cease  to  have  effect  by  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution  or  the  publication  of  the  laws  for 
which  it  provides. 

ART.  3.  The  new  provisions  relating  to  the  organization 
and  jurisdiction  of  the  Federal  Court  take  effect  only  after  the 
publication  of  federal  laws  thereon. 

ART.  4.  A  delay  of  five  years  is  allowed  to  Cantons  for 
the  establishment  of  free  instruction  in  primary  public  educa- 
tion. (Art.  27.) 

ART.  5.  Those  persons  who  practice  a  liberal  profession, 
and  who,  before  the  publication  of  the  federal  law  provided  for 
in  Article  33,  have  obtained  a  certificate  of  competence  from 
a  Canton  or  a  joint  authority  representing  several  Cantons, 
may  pursue  that  profession  throughout  the  Confederation. 

ART.  6.      [Amendment  of  Dec.  22,  1885.] 

If  a  federal  law  for  carrying  out  Article  32  (ii)  be  passed 
before  the  end  of  1890,  the  import  duties  levied  on  spirituous 
liquors  by  the  Cantons  and  Communes,  according  to  Article 
32,  cease  on  the  going  into  effect  of  such  law. 

If,  in  such  case,  the  shares  of  any  Canton  or  Commune,  out 
of  the  sums  to  be  divided,  are  not  sufficient  to  equal  the 
average  annual  net  proceeds  of  the  taxes  they  have  levied  on 
spirituous  liquors  in  the  years  1880  to  1884  inclusive,  the 
Cantons  and  Communes  affected  shall,  till  the  end  of  1890, 
receive  the  amount  of  the  deficiency  out  of  the  amount  which 
is  to  be  divided  among  the  other  Cantons  according  to  popu- 
lation ;  and  the  remainder  only  shall  be  divided  among  such 
other  Cantons  and  Communes,  according  to  population. 

The  Confederation  shall  further  provide  by  law  that  for 
such  Cantons  or  Communes  as  may  suffer  financial  loss 
through  the  effect  of  this  amendment,  such  loss  shall  not 


CONSTITUTION  OF  SWISS  CONFEDERATION.    403 

come  upon  them  immediately  in  its  full  extent,  but  gradually 
up  to  the  year  1895.  The  indemnities  thereby  made  neces- 
sary shall  be  previously  taken  out  of  the  net  proceeds  desig- 
nated in  Article  32  (ii),  paragraph  4. 

Thus  resolved  by  the  National  Council  to  be  submitted  to 
the  popular  vote  of  the  Swiss  people  and  of  the  Cantons. 
Bern,  January  31,  1 874. 

ZIEGLER,  President. 
SCHIESS,  Secretary. 

Thus  resolved  by  the  Council  of  States,  to  be  submitted 
to  the  popular  vote  of  the  Swiss  people  and  of  the  Cantons. 
Bern,  January  31,  1874. 

A.  KOPP,  President. 

J.  L.  LUTSCHER,  Secretary. 


REFERENCE    LITERATURE. 


GENERAL    HISTORIES. 

DANDLIKER,  K.     Geschichte  der  Schweiz.     3  vols.     Zurich,  1885- 

1887. 

At  once  the  most  attractive  and  most  complete  history  of  Swit- 
zerland. It  contains  the  latest  researches  on  debated  questions. 
Especial  attention  is  given  to  the  industrial  and  social  develop- 
ment of  the  nation.  The  work  is  copiously  illustrated  and  the 
style  eminently  readable. 
DIERAUER,  J.  Geschichte  der  Schweizerischen  Eidgenossenschaft. 

2  vols.     Gotha,  1887-1892. 

A  very  scholarly  book.  The  historical  treatment  is  essentially 
scientific  and  minute.  Industrial  and  social  conditions  are  only 
touched  upon  incidentally.  Better  adapted  for  reference  than 
for  continuous  reading.  The  work  is  still  incomplete,  the  last 
volume  only  goes  as  far  as  the  year  1516,  the  beginning  of  the 
Reformation. 

DAGUET,  A.     Histoire  de  la  Confederation  Suisse.     2  vols.     Gen- 
eva, 1879-1880. 

Valuable  as  treating  more  fully  of  French-speaking  Switzerland, 
v.  MULLER,  J.     Geschichte  der  Schweizerischen  Eidgenossenschaft. 
Fortgesetzt   von    R.    Glutz-Blotzheim   und   J.   J.    Hottinger. 
7  vols.     Translated  into  French  and  enlarged  by  S.  Vulli- 
emin  and  Ch.  Monnard.     16  vols.     1841-1847. 
This  work  was  written  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  before  tLe 
modern  school  of  history  had  investigated  the  origin  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation.     It  once  ranked  as  a  classic,  its  literary  style  and 
pervading  spirit  is  charming,  but  it  has  now  undoubtedly  become 
antiquated,  and  cannot  be  read  without  distinct  reservations. 
COOLIDGE,  W.  A.  B.     Article  on  Switzerland  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
Brittanica.     (Part  II.     History.) 

405 


406  THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

Is  by  far  the   most  accurate   version   in   English.     Especially 
recommended  to  those  who  desire  to  obtain  a  correct  impression 
of  the  rise  of  the  Swiss  Confederation. 
HUG,  L.  AND  STEAD  R.     Switzerland.     Story  of  the  Nations  Series. 

i  vol.     New  York,  1889. 
Fairly  accurate.     Prettily  illustrated. 
Historical  .Sketches  are  given  in  : 
ADAMS,  F.  O.  AND  CUNNINGHAM,  C.  D.     The  Swiss  Confederation. 

i  vol.     London,  1889. 
VINCENT,  J.   M.     State  and  Federal  Government   of   Switzerland. 

i  vol.     Baltimore,  1891. 
ZSCHOKKE,    H.      History   of    Switzerland,     i    vol.     Translated   by 

F.  G.  Shaw,  New  York,  1855. 

The  following  are  excellent  chronological  synopses : 
ZELLWEGER,  J.   K.     Chronologische  Uebersicht  der    Schweizerges- 
chichte.     Neu  bearbeitet  von  J.  Strickler.     Br.  Zurich,  1887. 
DANDLIKER,    K.     Uebersichtstafeln   zur   Schweizergeschichte.     Br. 

Zurich,  1890. 
v.  MURALT,   C.     Schweizergeschichte   mit   durchgangiger   Quellen- 

angabe.     i  vol.     Bern,  1885. 

A  work  of  great  research,  but  of  unequal  merit  in  its  various 
periods. 
OECHSLI,  W.    Quellenbuch  zur  Schweizergeschichte.    i  vol.    Zurich, 

1886. 

A  collection  of  the  most  important  documents  and  chronicles 
relating  to  Swiss  history,  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present. 
It  is  perfectly  indispensable  to  the  student,  and  is  so  pleasantly 
edited  as  to  commend  itself  for  popular  use. 

Amtliche    Sammlung   der   alteren   eidgenossischen   Abschiede, 

1245-1798.     8  vols. 
Repertorium  der  Abschiede  der  eidgenossischen  Tagsatzungen, 

1803-1848.     3  vols. 

These  two  collections  contain  the  reports  of  the  old  Federal 
Diets.  They  represent  an  enormous  mass  of  historical  matter, 
invaluable  to  scholars  engaged  in  original  research.  The  reports 
covering  the  period,  1798-1803,  are  now  being  collected  and 
published. 

Anzeiger  fur  Schweizerische  Geschichte.      A  periodical   pub- 
lished in  Bern. 


REFERENCE  LITERATURE.  407 

The  Societe  d'  Histoire  de  la  Suisse  Romande  issues  period- 
ically its  Memoires  et  Documents,  in  Lausanne.    They  throw  light 
upon  the  history  of  French-speaking  Switzerlamd. 
MEYER,  J.     Geschichte  des  Schweizerischen  Bundesrechts.     2  vols. 

Winterthur,  1875-1878. 
BLUNTSCHLI,   J.  C.     Geschichte  des  Schweizerischen  Bundesrechts. 

2  vols.     Zurich,  1849-1852. 
BACHTOLD,  J.  AND  VETTER,  F.     Bibliothek  alterer  Schriftwerke  der 

deutschen  Schweiz.     5  vols.     Frauenfeld,  1882-1884. 
ROSSEL,  V.     Histoire   litteraire   de   la    Suisse   Romande.     2    vols. 

Geneva,  1889-1891. 
GODET,    P.      Histoire   litteraire   de   la   Suisse    Frangaise.       i    vol. 

Neuchatel,  1890. 
RAHN,  J.   R.     Geschichte  der  bildenden   Kiinste  in  der  Schweiz. 

i  vol.     Zurich,  1876. 

A  complete  manual  of  the  rise  of  art  and  architecture  in  Swit- 
zerland. It  forms  a  convenient  commentary  to  the  political, 
industrial,  and  social  history  of  the  country. 

Historish-Geographischer    Atlas    der    Schweiz.      By    Vogelin, 

Meyer  von  Knonau,  and  Von  Wyss.     Zurich,  1870. 
Equipped  with  the  above  list  of  books,  the  reader  can  obtain  a 
thorough  and  accurate  conception  of  Swiss  History. 

For  the  study  of  special  periods,  the  following  works  will  be 
found  useful. 


BOOK  I. 

SWITZERLAND    BEFORE    THE    FOUNDING    OF    THE    CONFEDERATION. 

HEER,  O.  The  Primaeval  World  of  Switzerland.  2  vols.  Transla- 
ted by  W.  S.  Dallas.  London,  1876. 

MUNRO,  R.  The  Lake-Dwellings  of  Europe,  i  vol.  London, 
1890. 

GROSS,  V.     Les  Protohelvetes.     i  vol.     Berlin,  1883. 

KELLER,  F.  and  others.  Various  articles  in  Mittheilungen  der 
Antiquarischen  Gesellschaft,  vols.  1-19.  Zurich. 

GISI,  W.  Quellenbuch  zur  Schweizergeschichte.  i  vol.  Bern, 
1869. 


408          THE  RISE   OF  THE   SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

MOMMSEN,  T.     Romische  Geschichte,  vol.  5.     Berlin,  1885. 

"  Die  Schweiz  in  romischer  Zeit.  (Mitt.  d.  antiq.  Ges., 

vol.  9.     Zurich.) 
"  Inscriptiones  confoederationis  helvet.  lat.  (Mitt.  d. 

antiq.  Ges.,  vols.  10  and  15.     Zurich.) 
RAUCHENSTEIN,  H.     Der  Feldzug  Caesars  gegen  die  Helvetier.     Br. 

Zurich,  1882. 

MILES,  E.  J.     Aventicum  the  Roman  Metropolis  of  Helvetia.     Jour- 
nal of  the  British  and  American  Archaeological  Society  of 
Rome.  vol.  i,  no.  4.     Rome,  1888. 
NAEHER,  J.     Die  romischen  Militarstrassen  in  der  Schweiz  und  in 

Siidwestdeutschland.     Br.  Strassburg,  1888. 
LUTOLF.     Die  Glaubensboten  der  Schweiz.     i  vol.     Luzern,  1871. 


BAUMANN,  F.  L.       Schwaben  und  Alamannen. 

MEYER    VON    KNONAU.      Die    alamannischen    Denkmaler    in    der 

Schweiz.     Mitt.  d.  antiq.  Ges.,  vol.  18  and  19.     Zurich. 
Ross,   D.     The  Early  History  of  Land-Holding  Among  the  Ger- 
mans,    i  vol.     Boston,  1883. 

MERKEL,  J.     Lex  Alamannorum.  (Monum.  Germ.  hist.  Leges  III.) 
BLUNTSCHLI,    J.    C.      Staats    und    Rechtsgeschichte    von    Zurich. 

2  vols.     Zurich,  1838. 
SECRETAN,  E.     Le  premier  royaume  de  Bourgogne.     (Memoires  et 

Documents  de  la  Suisse  Romande,  vol.  24.) 
JAHN,  A.     Geschichte  der  Burgundionen  und  Burgundiens.  2  vols. 

Halle,  1874. 
VITA  S.  GALLI.     Translated  by  A.  Potthast.     (Die  Geschichtschrei- 

ber  der  deutschen  Vorzeit,  vol.  i.     Berlin,  1857.) 
CASUS  S.  GALLI.     By  Ekkehard  IV.     Translated  by  G.  Meyer  von 

Knonau.     Leipzig,  1878. 


VULLIEMIN,  L.     La  Reine  Berthe.     Galerie  Suisse,  vol.   i.     Lau- 
.  sanne,  1873. 

'DIACON,   M.   ET  TRIPET,   M.     La  Regalissima  Sedes  et  la   Reine 
Berthe.     Br.  Neuchatel,  1890. 


REFERENCE  LITERATURE.  409 

v.  STALIN,  C.  F.     Wirtembergische  Geschichte.     3,  vols.     Stuttgart, 

1841-1856. 
Fontes  Rerum  Bernensium.     3  vols.     Bern,  1877-1883. 


V.  LIEBENAU,   T.     Die  Anfange  des  Hauses  Habsburg.      Vienna, 

1883. 
Das  Habsburg-Oestreichische  Urbarbuch.     Herausgegeben  von 

F.  Pfeiffer.     Stuttgart,  1850. 
GRIMM,  J.  L.  C.     Weisthiimer.     5  vols.     Gottingen,  1840-1866. 


BOOK   II. 

THE   CONFEDERATION    OF    EIGHT   STATES. 

RILLIET,   A.     Les   Origines   de   la   Confederation    Suisse.     i    vol. 
Geneva,  1868. 

Sums  up  in  a  logical  and  lucid  manner  the  various  ques- 
tions which  have  risen  concerning  this  obscure  period. 
KOPP,  J.  E.     Urkunden  zur  Geschichte  der  eidgenossischen  Biinde. 

i  vol.     1835. 
•'         "         Geschichte  der  eidgenossischen  Biinde.      n  Biicher. 

Leipzig  and  Berlin.     1845-1852. 

These  were  epoch-making  books.  Kopp  was  the  first  his- 
torical writer  to  reconstruct  the  origin  of  the  Swiss  Confed- 
eration from  the  documents.  Discarding  the  legends  and 
myths  which  had,  up  to  that  time,  been  generally  accepted, 
he  entered  upon  his  task  with  a  strictly  scientific  method. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Kopp's  books  are  extremely  diffi- 
cult reading. 


BLUMER,  J.  J.  Staats  und  Rechtsgeschichte  der  Schweizerischen 
Democratien.  2  vols.  St.  Gallen,  1850-1858. 

BLUNTSCHLI,  J.  C.  Die  Drei  Lander  Uri,  Schwyz,  und  Unterwalden. 
Br.  Zurich,  1846. 


410          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

v.     WYSS,  G.     Uri,  Schwyz,  und  Unterwalden.     Br.     Zurich,  1858. 
Ross,    D.     The    Theory  of    Primitive    Democracy   in    the    Alps. 
Pamphlet. 


HILTY,   K.     Die  Bundesverfassungen   der  Schweizerischen   Eidge- 

nossenschaft.     i  vol.     Bern,  1891. 

OECHSLI,   W.      Bausteine   zur   Schweizergeschichte.      Br.      Zurich. 
1890.     Chap.    i.     Die   historischen    Griinder    der 
Eidgenossenschaft. 
"         "          Die  Anfange  der  Schweizerischen  Eidgenossenschaft. 

i  vol.     Zurich,  1891. 
v.  AH,  J.  J.      Die  Bundesbriefe  der   alten   Eidgenossen.      i    vol. 

Einsiedeln,  1891. 

MAY,  T.  E.     Democracy  in  Europe.     2  vols.     London,  1877.     Con- 
tains some  information  p.  333-403.     As  well  as 
FREEMAN,  E.  A.     The  growth  of  the  English  Constitution,     i  vol. 

Leipzig,  1872. 

VAUCHER,  P.    Esquisse  d'  Histoire  Suisse.    i  vol.    Lausanne,  1882. 
"         "         Les  Commencements  de  la  Confederation  Suisse.     Br. 
Lausanne,  1891. 


Die  Chronik  des  Weissen  Buches  von  Sarnen.  Herausgege- 
ben  von  F.  Vetter.  Schweizerische  Rundschau,  p.  225. 
August  number.  Bern,  1891. 

BARING-GOULD,  S.  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages,  i  vol. 
London,  1884.  Chapter  V.,  William  Tell. 

v.  LILIENCRON,  R.  W.  T.  H.  F.  Die  historischen  Volkslieder  der 
Deutschen.  4  vols.  Leipzig,  1865-69. 

TSCHUDII,  AEGIDII.  Chronicon  Helveticum.  Herausgegeben  von 
J.  R.  Iselin.  2  vols.  Basel,  1734-1736.  This  is  the  princi- 
pal chronicle  devoted  to  early  Swiss  history.  It  was  upon 
Tschudi's  version  that  v.  Miiller  based  his  great  history  and 
Schiller  his  play  of  William  Tell. 

JOANNIS,  VITODURANI.  Chronicon.  Herausgegeben  durch  G.  v. 
Wyss.  Archiv  fur  Schweizergeschichte.  vol.  2.  Ziirich, 
1856.  Translated  into  German  by  B.  Freuler,  Winterthur, 
1866. 


REFERENCE  LITERATURE.  411 

MALLEOLI,  FELICIS.      Vulgo  Hemmerlin.     De   Nobilitate  et  Rusti- 

citate  Dialogus.     Ejusdem  de  Switensium  ortu,  nomine,  con- 

federatione.     Tiguri,  1735. 
JUSTINGER,   C.      Bernerchronik.      Herausgegeben    von   G.   Studer. 

Bern,  1871.       , 
ETTERLIN,  P.     Kronica  von   der  loblichen  Eydtgnoschaft.     Basel, 

1507. 


MULNER,  E.     Jahrbuch.     Herausgegeben  von  L.  Ettmuler.     (Mitt. 

d.  antiq.  Ges.,  vol.  2.     Zurich,  1844.) 
Conflictus  Laupensis.     Herausgegeben  von  G.  Studer.     Bern, 

1871. 

v.    LIEBENAU,   T.     Die    Schlacht    bei    Sempach.      i   vol.     Luzern, 
1886. 

Contains    all    the    documentary    accounts    of    the    battle, 

arranged  in   an  attractive  form.     The  author  has  collected 

from  far  and  wide  every  piece  of  information  bearing  on  the 

battle. 

v.  LIEBENAU,  H.    Die  Winkelriede  von  Stans.    (Mitt.  d.  antiq.  Ges., 

vol.  9.     Zurich,  1853.) 
Arnold  Winkelried.     i  vol.     Aargau,  1862. 

COOLIDGE,  W.  A.  B.    Article  on  Arnold  von  Winkelried  in  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica. 

Sums  up  in  a  scholarly  fashion  the  conclusions  of  various 
writers  in  regard  to  the  question  of  Winkelried's  heroic  act. 


VINCENT,  J.  M.  A  study  in  Swiss  History.  Papers  of  the  Ameri- 
can Historical  Association,  vol.  3,  pp.  146-164.  1887. 

HART,  A.  B.  Introduction  to  the  study  of  Federal  Government, 
i  vol.  Harvard  Historical  Monographs.  Boston,  1891. 

BOOK  III. 

THE    CONFEDERATION    AT    THE    HEIGHT    OF    ITS    MILITARY    POWER,    i 

i 

ZELLWEGER.  Geschichte  des  Appenzellischen  Volkes.  i  vol. 
Trogen,  1830. 


412          THE  RISE   OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

v.  ARX,  J.     Geschichte  von  St.  Gallen.     2  vols.     St.  Gallen,  1810. 
Klingenberger  Chronik.     Herausgegeben  von  Dr.  Henne  von 
Sargans.     Gotha,  1861. 


GREMAUD,    L'ABBE.     Documents    relatifs    a   1'histoire   du   Vallais. 

(Mem.  et  doc.  de  la  Societe  d'histoire  de  la  Suisse  Romande, 

vol.  33.) 
v.  MOOR,  K.     Geschichte  Graubtindens,  und  Codex  Diplomaticus. 


FUCHS,  J.     Mailandische  Feldziige  der  Schweizer. 
FREI,  H.     Die  Eroberung  des  Aargau's.     Basel,  1870. 

OECHSLI,  W.    Bausteine  zur  Schweizergeschichte.    Br.  Zurich,  1890. 

Chap.  II.     Der  Streit  urn  das  Toggenburger  Erbe. 
Chronik   des   Hans  Friind.     Herausgegeben  von  Ch.  J.  Kind. 

Chur,  1875. 
Die  Schlacht  bei  St.  Jacob  in  den  Berichten  der  Zeitgenossen. 

Sacularschrift  der  Historischen  Gesellschaft  zu  Basel.    Basel, 

1844. 

KIRK,  J.  F.     History  of  Charles  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy.     3 

vols.     London,  1863. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  battles  of  Grandson,  Morat,  and 

Nancy,  will  be  found  in  this  work.     It  is  well  in  connection 

with  it  to  read  the  criticisms  of 
FREEMAN,  E.  A.     Select  Historical  Essays,     i  vol.      Leipzig,  1873. 

Chapter  VI. 
OCHSENBEIN,  G.  F.     Die  Urkunden  der  Belagerung  und  Schlacht 

von  Murten.     Freiburg,  1876. 

MICHELET,  J.     Histoire  de  France,     6  vols.     Paris,  1835-1844. 
v.  RANKE,   F.  L.      Franzosische    Geschichte.     4  vols.      Stuttgart, 

1852. 
SCHILLING,  D.  (The Elder.)    Beschreibung  der  Burgundischen  Krie- 

gen.     Bern,  1743. 
De'peches  des   ambassadeurs   Milanais    sur   les   campagnes   de 

Charles-Le-Hardi.     Publ.  par  F.   de  Gingins  La  Sarra.     2 

vols.     Paris-Geneve,  1858. 

SCHILLING,  D.  ( The  Younger^     Luzerner  Chronik.     Luzern,   1862. 


REFERENCE  LITERATURE.  413 

MING.     Der  selige  Bruder  Niklaus  von  Flue.     3  vols. 
ROCHHOLZ,  E.  L.     Die  Schweizerlegende  des  Bruders  Niklaus  von 
Flue. 


PIRKHEIMER,  W.     Histona  belli   Suitensis  sive  Helvetic!.     Tiguri, 

1735- 

Jovn,  P.     Historiae  sui  temporis.     2  vols.     Basel,  1567. 

The  parts  in  these  two  latter  works  which  bear  on  Swiss 
history  are  translated  into  German  by  W.  Oechsli,  Quellen- 
buch  zur  Schweizergeschichte. 

MACCHIAVELLI,  N.  Frequently  refers  to  the  Swiss  in  his  books  :  II 
Principe,  Dell'  Arte  delle  Guerre,  and  Discorsi.  The  refer- 
ences are  all  noticed  in  Oechsli's  Quellenbuch. 


BOOK  IV. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

STRICKLER,  J.     Die  Quellen  zur  Reformationsgeschichte.     1884. 
HULDREICH    ZWINGLIS    WERKE.     Herausgcgebcn  von   M.  Schuler 

und  J.  Schulthess.     8  vols.     Zurich,  1828-1842. 
BULLINGER,  H.     Reformationsgeschichte.    3  vols.    Herausgegeben 

von  Hottinger  und  Vogeli.     Frauenfeld,  1838-1840. 
Epistolae    Tigurinae.      Parkerianae    Societatis    auspiciis    editae. 

Cantabrigiae,  1848. 

Contains  letters  of  Lady  Jane  Grey  to  Bullinger,  Zwingli's 

successor. 
HESS,  J.  G.     The  Life  of  Ulrich  Zwingle.     Translated  from   the 

French  by  Lucy  Aikin.     i  vol.     London,  1812. 
SCHWALB,  M.     £tude   comparative  des  doctrines  de   Melanchton, 

Zwingle  et  Calvin,     i  vol.     Strassburg,  1859. 


Corpus  Reformatorum.    Joannis  Calvini  opera.    28  vols.    Bruns- 

vigae,  1863-1885. 

ROGET.     Histoire  du  Peuple  de  Geneve.     7  vols.     Geneva,  1870- 
1883! 


414  THE  RISE   OF   THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

KAMPSCHULTE,  F.  W.     Calvin,  seine  Kirche  und  sein  Staat  in  Genf. 

i  vol.     Leipzig,  1869. 

BONIVARD,  F.      Les  Chroniques  de  Geneve.    2  vols.    Geneva,  1831. 
Tracts    Relating    to    the    Reformation.      3    vols.      Edinburgh, 

1844-1851. 
DYER,  T.  H.     The  Life  of  John  Calvin,     i  vol.     New  York,  1850. 


v.  ZAULAUBEN,   B.  F.  A.  J.  D.     Tableaux  topographiques,  pittores- 
ques,  moraux,  politiques,  litteraires  de  la  Suisse.    Paris,  1780. 


BOOK  V. 

THE    MODERN    CONFEDERATION. 

WEBER,  R.     Die  poetische  Nationalliteratur  der  deutschen  Schweiz. 
PEREY,  L.  et  MAUGRAS,  G.     Voltaire  et  Rousseau.     Paris,  1886. 

La  vie  intime  de  Voltaire  aux  Delices. 

Paris,  1885. 
ROUSSEAU,  J.  J.     Juge  par  les   Genevois    d'aujourd'hui.     Geneva, 

1878. 
HERZFELDER.     Goethe  in  der  Schweiz.     i  vol.     Leipzig,  1891. 

Memoirs  of  Edward  Gibbon,  written  by  himself,  with  occasional 
notes  and  narrative  by  John,  Lord  Sheffield.  Edited  by 
Henry  Morley.  London,  1891. 

OLIVIER,  J.     Etudes  d'Histoire  Nationale.     Lausanne,  1842. 
POSSELT.     Europaische  Annalen.      Tubingen,  1798. 
v.  TILLIER,  A.     Geschichte  des  Freistaates  Bern.     5  vols. 
v.  ERLACH,  R.     Zur  bernischen  Kriegsgeschichte  des  Jahres  1798. 
Bern,  1881. 


Amtliche  Sammlung  der  Akten  aus  der  Zeit  der  Helvetischen 
Republik.  2  vols.  Herausgegeben  von  J.  Strickler. 

Tageblatt  der  Gesetze  und  Dekrete  der  gesetzgebenden  Rathe 
der  Helvetischen  Republik.  6  vols.  Bern,  1800. 

Der  Schweizerische  Republikaner.  Herausgegeben  yon  Escher 
und  Usteri.  3  vols.  Zurich,  Luzern,  Bern,  1798-1799. 


REFERENCE  LITERATURE.  415 

Bulletin  official  du  Directoire  Helve'tique  et  des  Entente's  du 

Canton  du  Le"man.     3  vols. 
v.  TILLIER,  A.    Geschichte  der  Helvetischen  Republik.    1798-1803. 

3  vols.     Bern,  1843. 
ZSCHOKKE,  H.      Denkwtirdigkeiten  der  Helvetischen  Staatsumwal- 

zung.     3  vols.     Winterthur,  1803-1805. 
Geschichte  vom  Kampf  und  Untergang  der  Schwei- 

zerischen  Berg-  und  Waldkantone.  Bern,  1801. 
RAMBERT,  E.  Etudes  historiques  et  nationales.  Lausanne,  1889. 
GUILLAUME,  J.  Pestalozzi,  6tude  biographique.  Paris,  1890. 


WIELAND.  Kriegsgeschichte  der  Schweizerischen  Eidgenossen- 
schaft. 

v.  TILLIER,  A.    Geschichte  der  Eidgenossenschaft  wahrend  der  Herr- 

schaft  der  Vermittlungsakte.     2  vols.     Zurich,  1845-1846. 
Repertorium  der  Abschiede  der  eidgenossischen  Tagsatzungen, 
v.  Jahr  1803  bis  1813.     Bern,  1842-1843. 

v.  TILLIER,  A.  Geschichte  der  Eidgenossenschaft  wahrend  der  so- 
genannten  Restaurationsepoche,  1814-1830.  3  vols.  Zurich, 
1848-1850. 

HILTY,  C.  La  Neutrality  de  la  Suisse.  Br.  Translated  from  Ger- 
man by  F.  H.  Mentha.  Bern,  1889. 

VAN  MUYDEN,  B.  La  Suisse  sous  le  Pacte  de  1815.  i  vol.  Lau- 
sanne, Paris,  1890. 

Repertorium  der  Abschiede  der  eidgenossischen  Tagsatzungen, 
v.  Jahr   1814  bis    1848.     Bearbeitet  von  W.  Fetscherin.     2 
vols.     Bern,  1874-1876. 
KERN.     Souvenirs  politiques,  1833-1883. 

v.  TILLIER,  A.    Geschichte  der  Eidgenossenschaft  wahrend  der  Zeit 
des    sogeheissen    Fortschritts,    1830-1848.       3   vols.      Bern, 
1854-1855. 
MULLER-FRIEDBERG.    Schweizerische  Annalen,  oder  die  Geschichte 

unserer  Tage  seit  dem  Julius,  1830.     6  vols. 

DUFOUR,   Gen.  G.  H.     Allgemeiner   Bericht    des    eidgenossischen 

Oberbefehlshabers     tiber    den    Feldzug 
von  1847. 


416          THE  RISE  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC. 

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von  1856.     Basel,  1882. 
GROTE,  G.     Seven  Letters  concerning  the  politics  of  Switzerland. 

London,  1876. 
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Zurich,  1867-1872. 

CURTI,  T.     Geschichte  der  Schweizerischen  Volksgesetzgebung.     i 

vol.     Zurich,  1885. 

Die  Volksabstimmung  in  der  schweizerischen  Gesetz- 
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KELLER,  A.     Das  Volksinitiativrecht   nach    den    schweizerischen 
Kantonsverfassungen.     Br.     Zurich,  1889. 

HERZOG,  J.  A.    Das  Referendum  in  der  Schweiz.    Br.    Berlin,  1885. 

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SULLIVAN,  J.  W.     Direct  Legislation,     i  vol.     New  York,  1892. 


INDEX. 


Aar,  24,  62,  145,  156. 

Aargau,  62,  123,  131,  160,   165,  209- 

212,  214. 
Abbey  of  Nuns  (Frautnunster),  73, 

74,  102,  137,  138. 
Ab  Iberg,  91. 
Adams,  355. 
Adelaide,  50,  51. 
Adolf,  King,  116-118,  120. 
Aebli,  266. 
Aegeri,  124,  151,  304. 
Aeppli,  14. 
Agen,  21. 
Alamanni,    28,    31-35,    48,    71,   III- 

112,  136,  137. 

Albrecht,  King,  85,  86,  116-120. 
Alexander  I.,  of  Russia,  321. 
Allobroges,  20. 

Almend,  33,  79,  117,  121,  148,  291. 
Altdorf,  74,  101,  103. 
Altenburg,  62. 
Altstiitten,  199,  200. 
Alzellen,  106,  119. 
Amiel.  292. 
Ammann,  76,   78,   81,   131,   158,   195, 

196. 

Ammianus  Marcellinus,  28. 
Andermatt,  311. 
Anker,  51. 
Anne,  Queen,  119. 
"  Anne  of  Geierstein,"  231. 
Aosta,  24. 

Appenzell,  193-201,  219,  295. 
Arbedo,  209. 
Arbon,  41,  199. 
Armagnacs,  216. 
Arnold,  91. 

Articles  of  Agreement,  113,  114. 
Attinghausen,  74,  91,  101,  103,  118. 
Auerochs,  73. 
Augst,  24,  25,  40. 
Aurelian  and  Diocletian,  28. 
Austria,  title  of  Duke  of,  86. 

"        Duke    Albrecht,    143,    147, 

151, 152,  162,  163. 


Austria,  Catherine  of,  165. 

Duke    Frederic,    120,   197- 
200,  210,  211. 

Duke  John,  119. 
Duke  Leopold  I.,  120,  123- 
125,  165. 

Duke  Leopold  III., 167-173. 
Duke  Rudolf  IV.,  164. 
"       Duke  Sigmund  of,  221,  222. 
Autun,  37. 
Avenches  or  Aventicum,  24,  25-27, 

28,  230. 
Axenberg,  311. 

Baar,  151. 

Bad  Peace  (Fauler  Friede),  215. 

Baden,  24,  25,  76,  168,209,211,  279. 

Balthazar,  Felix,  93,  101. 

Basel,  20,30,  65,165,216,  238,  280,326. 

Baselwind,  Theobald,  159. 

Beglingen,  178. 

Bellinzona,  209. 

Berchtold,  Abbot,  132. 

Beckenried,  108. 

Bergell,  266. 

Bern,  57,  86,  116,  152,   153,  154-161, 

164,    184,    205,  211,   224,  298, 

299,  301. 
Bernouilli,  290. 
Bertha,  Queen,  49-53. 
Besler,  102. 
Berthelier,  272,  273. 
Biber,  Rudolf,  140. 
Bibracte,  22. 
Bicocca,  175,  176,  260. 
Bienne,  15. 
Bismarck,  357. 
Black  Forest,  222. 
Bluntschli,  336. 
Bodmer,  289. 
Boniface,  Archbishop,  60. 
Bonivard,  272,  273,  274,  275. 
Borromeo,  279. 
Boston,  285. 
Bourbaki,  355. 
417 


418 


INDEX. 


Bramberg,  159. 

Brandenburg,  151,  152,  162. 

Bregenz,  41,  201. 

Breitinger,  289. 

Brief,  131,  138. 

Bruderholz,  238. 

Brugg,  24,  62,  169. 

Brun/  Rudolf,    140,   143,    145,   152, 

162-164. 

"      Bruno,  164. 
Brune,  299,  300. 
Briinig  Pass,  157. 
Brunnen,  126.* 

Bubenberg,  160,  217,  228,  229. 
Bullinger,  Heinrich,  270. 
Burgdorf,  57,  166. 
Burgundians,  31,  35,  36 
Burgundy,  48,  49,  53. 

Charles,    the    Bold,    of, 
104,  219-231. 

Burkard,  Duke,  43,  50,  54. 
Burkart,  Landammann,  91. 
Burglen,  74,  101. 
Biirkli,  K.,  175. 
Buttisholz,  166. 
Byron,  26. 

Calven,  238. 
Calvin,  271-277. 
Caecina,  Allienus,  25. 
Caesar,  Julius,  21. 

"       Augustus,  23. 
Carinthia,  86. 
Casus,  Sancti  Galli,  42,  43. 
Centenarius,  39. 
Cham,  168. 
Charles,    the  Great  (Charlemagne), 

45-47- 

Martel,  45. 

the  Bold,  219-231. 

I..  259. 

IV.,  162,  164,  204. 

VII..  215. 

Chartier,  Jean,  217. 
Childebert  I.,  37. 
Childeric  III.,  45. 
Chillon,  61. 

Chivalry,  age  of,  63,  64. 
Chlotar,  I.,  II.,  III.,  37,  39. 
Chorherrenstift  in  Zurich,  45. 
Chur,  24,  29,  51,  206. 
Clanx,  195. 

Cloudesly,  William  of,  98,  99,  100. 
Cigognier,  26. 
Cisalpine  Republic,  298. 
Colonia,  Julia  Equestris  (Nyon),  23, 

24,  25. 
Como,  24,  268. 


Conftictus  Laupensis,  160. 

Conrad,  King  of  Transjurane   Bur- 
gundy, 50,  52,  53. 

Mayor  of  Erstfeld,  91. 

Conseil  General  de  la  terre  du  Falais, 
204. 

Constance,  14,  20,  24,  195,  200,  201, 
210,  261. 

Constantine,  Greek  emperor,  43. 
Roman  emperor,  29. 

Cophingen,  61. 

Coppet,  294. 

Coucy,  Enguerrand  de,  165,  169. 
"       Matthiew  de,  217. 

Covenant    of    Stans    (Stanser    Vcr- 
.     kommnis),  232-235. 

Crannogs,  16. 

Cressier,  230. 

Cronica  de  Berno,  160. 

Crusades,  139. 

Curchod,  293. 

Curraetia,  48,  54, 

Davel,  296. 

De  Saussure,  290. 

De  Tocqueville,  352. 

Devil's  Bridge,  311. 

Diessbach,  Nicolas  von,  221,  224. 

Diets  (Tagsatzungen),  189. 

Dissentis,  44,  74,  207. 

Divico,  21,  22. 

Dofflingen,  182. 

Domitian  and  Trojan,  27. 

Domleschg,  206. 

Domo  d'Ossola  {Eschcnthat),  209. 

Dornach,  238. 

Dornbiihl,  156. 

Dutch  Confederation,  115,  285. 

Dufour,  330. 

Ecorcheurs  or  Schinder,  216. 
Einsiedeln,  78,  79,  86,  120,  121,  123, 

145,  168,  218. 

Ekkehart,  I.,  II.  and  IV.,  42,43,44. 
Eleonora,  Queen  of  England,  60,  61. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  120. 
Elsass,  62,  63,  132,  160,  222. 
Engadin,  206. 
Engelberg,  83,  84. 
Engiander  Hiigel,  166. 
Entlebuch,  168,  233,  296. 
Erchanger  and  Berchtold,  54. 
Erlach,  160,  299. 
Erstfeld,  74,  91. 
Este,  Marquis  of,  168. 
Eto,  Abbot,  73. 
Etterlin,  133,  227. 

Fae'nza,  79. 


INDEX. 


419 


Falkenstein,  Thomas  of,  216. 

Farel,  274,  275. 

Farnsburg,  216. 

Ferney,  293. 

Fichte,  290. 

Figlerfluh,  125. 

ritcalini,  136. 

Flims,  207. 

Flue,  Nicholas  von  der,  234. 

Forest  States,  71,  72,  85,  86,  117,  118, 

120,  121,  126,  265. 
Francis  I.,  259,  267. 
Frastenz,  238. 
Fraubrunnen,  166. 
Freeman,  Ed.  A.,  184,  22O,  231,  234. 
Frederic  Barbarossa,  63. 

"       II.,  56,  63,  79,  85,  137,  154. 

III.,  Emperor,  214,  215. 
Freising,  Otto  von,  137. 
Freudenberger,  93,  285. 
Fribourg,  57,  156,  158,  159,  177,233, 

265,  271,  331,  332,  339. 
Frutigen,  158. 
Fiirst,  107,  108. 

Gaesatae,  20. 

Gais,  194,  199. 

Galba,  25. 

Gallus,4i,  42. 

Gaul,  136. 

Geneva,  20,  22,    29,  31,  45,  224,  271- 

291,  322. 

Geneva  Convention,  189. 
Gersau,  130. 

Gessler,  96,  97,  102,  103,  106. 
Gessner,  290. 
Gibbon,  289,  293. 
Giornico,  233. 
Godomar,  37. 
Goethe,  290. 
Golden  League,  279. 
Goschenen,  75. 
Gourze,  51. 
Glarus,  75,  86,  148-150,  152,  164, 177- 

180, 184,  186,  207,  214,  219,264. 
Gloucester,  Earl  of,  82. 
Grandson,  225-228. 
Graubiinden,  or  Grisons,  20,  31,  193, 

206,  207,  237,  264,  268,  297. 
Grauholz.  299. 
Gregory  VII.,  Pope,  55. 

X.,  Pope,  86. 
Greifensee,  215. 
Gremaud,  Abbe,  202. 
Grimsel  Pass,  145. 
Grinau,  143. 
Grindelwald,  57. 
Grosse  Moos,  15. 


Grossmiinster  in  Zurich,  45,  136,  164, 

259- 

Gruyeres,  158,  229. 
Gugler,  165,  166. 
Guilds,  141,  142. 
Giimminen,  157. 

Gundoldingen,  Peter  von,  164,  172. 
Gustavus,  Adolphus,  279. 
Gwalther,  Rudolf,  175. 

Habsburg,  Count  Rudolf,  III.  (Em- 
peror Rudolf  I.),  60,  63-65,  76, 
77,  81,  87,  116,  144,  149,  154. 
55,  62-66,  75,  79,  82,  168,  209'. 

Hagenbach,  223,  224. 

Haller,  Albrecht,  290. 

Haller,  Berchtold,  264. 

Haller,  Emanuel  von,  93,  290. 

Hanseatic  League,  70. 

Harald  Bluetooth,  King,  98,  99. 

Hasle,  156,  158. 

Hatto,  Bishop,  45. 

Hauptlisberg,  199. 

Hedwig,  Duchess  of  Alamannia,  43, 
54- 

Helvetian  Society,  291. 

Helvetii  and  Helvetia,  20-28,  112. 

Hemmerlin,  95,  103. 

Henry  I.,  Emperor,  53. 

'    III.,  King  of  England,  60. 
"    IV.,  Emperor,  55,  56,  79. 

"  VII.,  76,   120,   121,  158. 

Henzi,  296. 
Herodotus,  16. 
Hessen,  Philip  of,  267. 
Hericourt,  224. 
Hermann,  Chronicler,  73. 
Hilarius,  148. 
Hildigard,  73. 
Hildisrieden,  169. 
Hippocrates,  16. 
Hochberg,  168. 
Hohenstauffen,  137. 
Hohen-Zollern,  168. 
Hohle  Gasse,  97,  ior. 
Horace,  23. 
Horige,  38. 
Huguenots,  273. 
Hugues,  272-274. 
Handvvil,  194. 
Hunn,  91. 

Iceland,  98. 

levan  ap  Eynion,  i6j. 

Imhof,  Johann,  101. 

Immunity,  47. 

Indians,  American,  112,  114. 

Institute  of  Canons,  136^ 


420 


INDEX. 


Institutis  Religionis  Christiana,  276. 
Irish  Church,  40,  42. 
Irmengarde,  52. 
Iselin,  290. 

Joan,  daughter  of  Edward  I.,  King 

of  England,  82. 
John  XXIII. ,  Pope,  210. 
"  Joyous  band  of  the  mad  life,"  233. 
Julia,  Alpinula,  26. 
Julian,  Emperor,  28. 
Jura,  15,  20,  21,  31,  36,  165. 
Justinger,  57,  95,  126,  160. 

Kander,   158. 
Kappel,  266,  268,  269. 
Karlmann,  45. 
Karolinum,  45. 
Kastvogt,  74,  75,  84,  86. 
Keller,  Dr.  Ferdinand,  15,  18. 
Kerenzen  Mountain,  178. 
Kiburg,  59,  157,  166. 
Kirk,  J.  F.,  219,  221. 
Klausen  Pass,  75. 
Klingenberg  Chronicle,  197. 
Klopstock,  290. 
Knechte,  38. 
Konigsfelden,  120,  172. 
Konstaffel,  141,  142,  185. 
Kopp,  Joseph  Eutych,  94. 
Kugelhiite,  165. 
Kunzo,  Duke,  41. 
Kupferschmied,  Conrad,  201. 
Ktissnacht,  81,  96,  97,  103,  118. 

La  Harpe,  297,  298,  309. 
Lake  Dwellers,  14-19. 
La  Lance  Chartreuse,  226. 
Landammann,    76,    82,  91,   118,  119, 

177. 
Landenberg    or     Landenburg,     105, 

107,  108. 
Landrath,  195. 
Landsgemeinde,  117,  177,  184,  195, 

260. 

Landrect,  196,  201,  205. 
Land  tenure,  117,  190. 
La  Soie,  castle  of,  204. 
La  Tine,  17. 
Laupen,  159,  160. 
Lausanne,  86,  275. 
Lavater,  289,  290. 
League  above  the  Lake,  200. 
"       of  the  House  of  God,  206. 
"       of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions,  206, 
207. 

of  the  Grey  or  Upper,  206. 
Leibeigene,  38. 


Lenzburg,  62,  75,  78,  79,  137. 

Les  Delicts,  293. 

Letzi,  158,  178,  179,  180,  196,  199,  200. 

Leuenberger,  283,  284. 

Leventina,  Val  (Livinen),  208,  209. 

Liebenau,  von,  173. 

Limburg,  173. 

Limmat,  24,  41,  136. 

Lindenhof,  136. 

linth,  180. 

Lombard  League,  70. 

Lorraine,  Duke  of,  168,  229,  231. 

Lothar,  King  of  Italy,  50. 

King,  47,  48,  49. 
Louis  XL,  216,  221,  223,  224. 

11     XIV.,  284,  285. 
Lowerz,  Lake  of,  103,  108. 
Liibeck,  173. 
Ludwig,  the  German,  47,  48,  73, 136. 

"       King,  120,  127,  158,  159. 
Luther,  267. 
Luxemburg,  119. 

Luzern,  63,  80,  83,  86,  129-135,  167, 
168,    184,    185,    211,    322,  327, 
330,  333. 
Lake  of,  15,  69,  70,  75,  90,  126. 

Madcraner,  Thai,  108. 

Maggenberg,  160. 

Mahnung,  130. 

Manuel,  Nicholas,  265. 

Marburg,  267. 

Markgenossenschaft,  75,  78,  83. 

Martigny,  24,  203. 

Massacre,  Night  of,  134,  143. 

Maurienne,  family  of,  59. 

Mayor  (Meier),  74,  149. 

Maximianus,  Emperor,  29. 

Maximilian  I.,  237. 

Mazze  or  mazza,  205. 

Medici,  G.  G.,  268. 

Meierholz,  169. 

Melchi  or  Melche,  104,  105,  107,  108. 

Melchthal,  104. 

Menzingen,  151. 

Milan,  24,  220. 

Minister-tales,  136. 

Moliere,  51. 

Mollis,  178,  180. 

Moudon,  51. 

Morat,  15,  53,  57,  158,  228-231. 

Morgarten,  94,  108,  123-128,  133, 144, 

147.  149,  165,  167,  177,  178. 
Morge  de  Conthey,  la,  203. 
Morschach,  78. 
Metiers,  292. 

Miilhausen,  219,  222,  223. 
Miiller,  Johannes  von,  93,  285,  290. 


INDEX. 


421 


Mulner,  Eberhard,  141,  144,  151,  162, 

163.  m 

Miinchenwiler,  230. 
Muota  Valley,  78. 
Muralt,  E.  von,  71. 
Murbach,  Abbey,  86,  131,  132 
Muri,  Abbey  of,  62. 
Musso,  268. 
Muttenz,  216. 

Nafels,  177-180,  182,  190,  195. 

Nageli,  275- 

Nancy,  217,  224,  231. 

Napoleon,  297,  298,  308. 

Nassau,  Count  of,  168. 

Neuchatel,   15,   51,  52,  216,  271,  276, 

296. 

Neu-Habsburg,  81. 
New  England,  112. 
Niebuhr,  92. 
Nidau,  160. 

Nidwalden,  80,  83,  84,  107,  119,  305. 
Norway,  98. 
Notker,  42,  43. 

Oberhalbstein,  206. 

Oberland,  Bernese,  157,  159. 

Obermeilen,  14. 

Oberwangen,  156. 

Obwalden,  80,  83,  84,  107,  108,  119. 

Ochs,  297. 

Oedisriet,  Rudolf  von,  119. 

Oekonomische  Gcsellschaft,  291. 

Oelemberg,  8<r. 

Olten. 

Ordonnances  Ecclesiastiques t  277. 

Orgetorix,  21. 

Othmar,  abbot,  42. 

Otto,  the  Great,  50,  51. 

Ottocar,  King  of  Bohemia,  86. 

Palafittes,  16. 

Palatinate,  285. 

Panigarola,  225,  231. 

Pas  de  1'Ecluse,  22. 

Patricius,  39. 

Payerne,  51,  53. 

Peace,  the  Evil,  177,  178. 

Peasants'  War,  283,  284. 

Perpetual  Peace  (Ewige  Richtwtg), 
223. 

Pestalozzi,  289,  290,  305. 

Pfalz,  136,  137. 

Pfaffers,  78,  86. 

Pfyffer,  278. 

Pipin,  44,  45. 

Pius  II.  (Alneas  Sylvius  Piccolo- 
mini),  217,  222. 


Plaits,  204. 
Praeses,  39. 
Pragel  Pass,  148,  179. 
Prangins,  293. 
Pratteln,  206. 

Priest's  Charter  (Pfaffenbrief),  164, 
165,  187,  234. 

"Quentin  Durward,"  231. 

Rappers^ril,   86,    143,    144,   146,   152, 

168. 

Rath,  131. 
Rarogne,  204,  205. 
Rathert,  43. 
Raurici,  20. 
Rautiberg,  179. 
Raziins,  207. 
Raeti  and  Raetia,  20,  23,  24,  31,  39, 

136,  206. 
Raye,  168. 
Reding,  296,  303. 
Regensburg,  163. 
Regler,  75. 
Reichenau,  44,  73. 
Reichsunmittelbarkeiti   47,  70,  72,  8l, 

131,  137,  154,  157,  158. 
Remedius,  45. 
Reuss,  24,  62,  131. 
Rheinfelden,  56. 
Rhine  league,  70,  182. 
Rhone,  202,  203. 
Rigi,  69. 

Rondchamps,  225. 
Rossini,  92. 

Rothenburg,  131,  1 68,  169. 
Rotzberg,  107. 
Rousseau,  289,  292,  293. 
Rudolf  II.,  King  of  Burgundy,  49,52. 
Riitli,  107,  108,  109. 


Sachseln,  234. 
Salm,  Count  of,  168. 
Salomon,  Bishop,  54. 
Sarnen  83,  104,  105,  107,  108. 
Sattel  Pass,  123,  124. 
Satzungsbrief,  177. 
Savoy,  55,  59-61. 
Sabaudia,  20,  31,  35. 
Saleve,  13. 

Sarine  or  Saane,  57,  158,  230 
Sax,  207. 

Saxo  Grammaticus,  98,  99, 
Saxon,  204. 
Schachenthal,  74. 
Schaddorf,  101. 
Schaffhausen,  219,  222,  238. 
Schauenberg,  299,  305. 


108. 


422 


INDEX. 


Scheffel,  43. 

Schibi,  283,  284. 

Schiller,  85,  92,  94,  109. 

Schilling,  227,  234. 

Schinner  (Cardinal),  241. 

Schinznach,  291. 

Schlosshalden,  86. 

Schneisingen,  179. 

Schon,  181. 

Schorno,  124. 

Schultheiss,  39,  129,  131,  133,  137, 
155,  157,  164,  172,  185. 

Schiissenried,  18. 

Schwanau,  103,  107. 

Schwiz,  47,  63,  64,  69,  72,  78-82,  85, 
87-89,  90,  104,  no,  116,  117, 
119,  120, 121,  123,  164, 184, 196, 
213,  296,  303,  327,  333- 

Scott,  Walter,  231. 

Seckingen,  148,  149. 

Seedorf,  103. 

Sempach,  81,  167-176,  177,  178,  195. 
Covenant  of,  181,  188. 

Sendgrafen,  45. 

Sentis,  193. 

Sequani,  20. 

Servetus,  277. 

Sigisbert  44. 

Sigismund,  37,  2IO,  211. 

Sigmund,  223. 

Silenen,  74,  91. 

Jost  von,  221,  224. 

Simmenthal,  158. 

Sierre,  203. 

Sion,  156,  203,  205. 

Solothurn,  24,  29,  156,  157,  158,  159, 

166,  181,  233,  265. 
~    Speicher,  196. 
~a  Spiez,  158. 
Lan- iliigen  Pass,  24. 
Andreas,  168. 
Lande  Beatus,  29. 

Bernard,  24,  61. 
Landra.olumb 

Landsgc  u     and 

26c 
Landrect, 


len,  40,  42-44.  45,  51.  54,  86, 


)3,  193-201, 
129, 


Land  tenu 
La  Soie, 
La  Tine,  I'/'  7.1 
Laupen,  15' ~r    < 


^  2o8 


League  abo     '      " 


Leibeigene 


157- 


St.  Ulrichen,  205. 
"  Vincent,  160. 
Stael,  289,  294. 
Stans,  83,  174. 
Stanzerhorn,  83. 
Stauffacher,  91,96,  103,  104,  106,  107, 

108,  nS,  119,  121. 
Stein,  211. 
Steinach,  41. 
Steinen,  106,  119. 
Stocken,  126. 
Stoffeln,  195,  197,  200. 
Stoss,  199-200. 
Strand,  the  (London),  60 
Strattlingen,  158. 
Stiissi,  215. 
Styria,  86. 
Suetonius,  27. 
Sursee,  169. 
Swabian   league,   70,    160,  167,   182, 

195,  210,  237. 
Swiss  Club,  296. 

"      Guard,  297. 
Sworn  Brief,  132, 141-143,165, 181,185. 

Tacitus,  25,  27,  46. 

Tavelli,  204. 

Tell,  William,  92-104,  176,  285. 

Teufen,  194. 

Thayngen,  13. 

Theck,  168. 

Thorwaldsen,  297. 

Theobald,  73. 

Theodebert,  40. 

Theodore,  29,  203. 

Theodoric,  37. 

Thierstein,  229. 

Thorberg,  164. 

Thur,  145. 

Thurgau,  59,  71,  200,  222,  264. 

Thun,  29,  57,  157,  158. 

Thurn  von  Gestelen,  158. 

Tiberius,  23. 

Ticino,  20,  23,  31,  37,  208,  296. 

Tigorini,  21,  22. 

Titlis,  83. 

Todi,  148. 

Toggenburg,  178,  207,  213,  214,  296. 

Toko,  98,  99,  100. 

Tougenes,  21. 

Trogen,  196. 

Troglodytes,  13. 

Tschudi,  76,  109,  148,  278. 

Tuggen,  41. 

Tuotilo,  43. 

Turicum,  136. 

Unterseen,  157. 


INDEX. 


423 


Unterwalden,  47,  63,  64,  69,  70,  72, 
80,  83,  84,  85,  87-89,  91,  104, 
no,  119,  184,  233,  265,  305. 

Urbarbuch  of  Habsburg,  86. 

Uri,  47,  64,  69,  70,  72,  73-77,  85, 
87-89,  90,  104,  no,  116,  119, 
120,  184,  265,  285,  305. 

Urner  Boden,  148. 

Urnerloch,  187. 

Urseren,  74,  108. 

Vadianus    (Joachim  von  Watt),  93, 

264. 
Valais,  20,  23,  24,  29,  60,  193,  202-206, 

271 ,  279,  301,  307,  318,  331,  333. 
Val  Tellina,  297. 
Valerianus,  27. 
Varese,  208. 
Vaud,    60,    160,    224,   271,   289,    296, 

298,  301,  321. 
Verdun,  47,  49. 
Vergy,  168.' 
Verona,  57. 
Vespasian,  27. 
Vevey,  24. 
Via  detra,  226. 
Viberi,  20. 

Vierwaldstattersee,  129. 
Villingen,  56. 
Villeneuve,  13,  61. 
Vindelici,  20. 
Vincent,  186. 
Vindonissa,  33,  40. 
Visp,  204. 

Vita  Sancti  Galli,  40. 
Vitellius,  25. 
Vitznau,  130. 
Vitoduranus,  25,  123,  141. 
Vogelinsegg,  196,  197. 
Voltaire,  289,  291,  293. 

Waldmann,  229,  236. 


Waldshut,  222. 

Walensee,  24,  178. 

Wart,  120. 

Waser,  296. 

Waterloo  Bridge,  60. 

Werdenberg-Heiligenberg,  198,  200. 

Weggis,  130. 

Wergeld,  39- 

Weissenburg,  157,  158. 

Werdenberg-Sargans,  178,  180. 

Wesen,  177,  178,  180. 

Westphalia,  Treaty  of,  114,  230,  280. 

Wettingen,  74. 

Wetzikon,  13. 

Wilchingen,  296. 

Willisau,  169. 

Wimmis,  158. 

Windisch,  24,  119. 

Winkelried,  83,  171,  173-176. 

Winterthur,  50,  59. 

Worms,  Diet  of,  237. 

Wiilpelsberg,  62. 

Wiirttemberg,  151,  182. 

Yverdon,  292. 

Zaeringen,  Dukes  of,  55-58,  75,  137, 
154,  203. 

Zehntt,  204. 

Zellweger,  295. 

Zofingen,  169,  323. 

Zug,  71,  150,  151,  152,  164,  184,  185, 
186,  233,  295. 

Zur  or  Der  Frauen,  107,  108,  172. 

Ziirich,  14,  15,  29,  32,  41,  45,  56, 
64,  73,  90,  116,  118,  136-146, 
i62-i64ri84,  185,  213-215,  237, 
259,  266,  289,  296,  309,  327. 

Ziirichgau,  71,  74,  75,  78,  79,  84,  137. 

Zur  Lauben,  295. 

Zwingli,  255-263,  270. 

7wang  Uri  or  Twing  Uren,  107,  108. 


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